BERNARDUCCI.MEISEL.GALLERY
37 West 57 Street . New York 10019 . 212.593.3757
bernarducci@meiselgallery.com . bernarduccimeisel.com
ZOË SUA KAY | HELEN STRICKLER
NEW PAINTINGS BY RECENT GRADUATES OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF ART
5 – 28 FEBRUARY 2015
Bernarducci Meisel Gallery is pleased to present The Graduates, an exhibition of new paintings by Zoë Sua Kay and Helen Strickler. These two artists are recent graduates of the New York Academy of Art and both deal with life, death, and the beauty that surrounds these motifs in their approach to painting.
Zoë Sua Kay often uses herself as a model in her work. Her departure from a realist depiction of skin is recognized in her colors choices which are often crude and grotesque. She pushes her reference further into abstraction by cropping and highlighting typically overlooked portions of the body (back of legs, bottoms of feet, etc). The result is eerie, unfamiliar, and fascinating. It is unapologetically bold and pays tribute to the history of flesh and paint recognized in the oeuvres of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Jenny Saville.
Hanging Out (2014) is one of her most recent works included in the exhibition. This massive vertically oriented painting of two legs pressed up one another offers a visceral effect. The legs have a lifelessness to them in their positioning and hues of blues and purples. One is left not knowing the surrounding narrative of this human and leaves the viewer in a place of mystery and anxiety.
Helen Strickler paints skulls as symbols of universal commonalities in human beings. Though humans appear strikingly different, our interiors are nearly identical. The incorporation of fresh and dead flowers relates Day of the Dead— a celebration of the deceased. She highlights that there is an overlooked optimism and wonder in the afterlife that should not be overlooked.
In her painting Transience I (2014), she depicts a skull that despite its reference to death, is illuminated by the way it is lit and painted. The floral headdress also makes this smiling skeletal face feel alive. The marigolds references Day of the Dead, which are the flowers of the dead. The muted background allows for the viewer to focus in on the significance of this beautifully
painted figure.
Kay was born in Lisbon, Portugal, Zoë Sua Kay moved to London in 2006 where she worked as an artist for seven years. Strickler was born in Atlanta Georgia and studied visual art internationally in Costa Rica, Italy, and Ecuador. Both of these painters now live and work in New York City.
For more information contact Marina Press at marina@meiselgallery.com
