February 10 - May 13, 2018
Decadence is often alluring
in its exuberance, but it can also be sinister and subversive in its
indulgence. The Neo-Victorians explores a resurgence of interest over the last
decade in ornamental lushness that conceals pointed social commentary beneath a
seductive surface technique.
There is no coherent
“Neo-Victorian” movement—no manifesto or single guiding principle subscribed to
by each of these artists. Rather, the exhibition highlights a wide range of
artists’ engagement with the aesthetics of the 19th century, which they have
shaped, molded, and transformed to reflect today’s concerns, commenting on
gender roles and societal tensions under the guise of the overt beauty.
The exhibition looks at
these works through three broad thematic groupings: the artist as naturalist,
the artist as purveyor of the fantastical, and the artist as explorer of
domesticity. Some of the artists featured in the exhibition focus on just one
of these themes, while others intersect with recurring motifs layered within
these broad ideas.
Each of the artists in The
Neo-Victorians rejects the notion of industrial mass production, instead
visibly emphasizing and reveling in elaborate construction, a surfeit of
detailed design, and a visceral appeal to the senses. The artists on view
conjure a staggering array of possible approaches to the subject matter, using
a wide variety of materials designed to engage the eye. Artists in the
exhibition include: Troy Abbott, Jennifer Angus, Joan Bankemper, Nancy Blum,
Ebony Bolt, Laurent Chehere, Alison Collins, Camille Eskell, Lisa A. Frank,
Kirsten Hassenfeld, Dan Hillier, Marilyn Holsing, Patrick Jacobs, Pat Lasch,
Catherine Latson, Zachari Logan, Davy and Kristin McGuire, Chet Morrison, Donna
Sharrett, Deborah Simon, Nick Simpson, and Darren Waterston.
The Neo-Victorians will
encourage audiences both familiar and unfamiliar with the Gilded Age—on view in
the Hudson River Museum’s historic home Glenview—to look at the growing group
of contemporary artists imbued with a “Victorian aesthetic” and recognize how
visual influences of the past continue to shape art in the present day.
https://hrm.org/exhibits/Neo-Victorians/neo-victorians.html
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