HEATWAVE
Lydia Freier, Charlie Goering, Samuel Richardson, Julia Policastro2 Rivington Street, New York
Thursday May 4th – Sunday 7th, 2023
12–7 pm
The concept of heat transcends various interpretations, encompassing physical and psychological realms. Emotional heat can manifest as anger or lust, while physical heat can be a transformative power that can alter the composition of objects or environments.
The motif of hot weather has been employed in both film and literature to foreshadow feelings of unease and anguish, often leading to conflict or mortality. In HEATWAVE, this notion of energy is explored, engaging in a dialogue about interpretations and reactions that fire as an element can evoke. Through its symbolism, this exhibition delves into the duality of heat, inviting viewers to reflect on its significance.
Lydia Freier's compositions on unstretched canvas present deskilled, anonymous figures in hazy pastoral settings entangled in ritualistic conflicts, presenting turmoil and resolution through a lens of detachment and irony. A pseudo-religious tone is further explored through the altar-like paintings of Julia Policastro, who employs Proto-Renaissance techniques of architectural design recalling the trompe-l'oeil styles of Mantega or Giotto, updated with a saturated palette reminiscent of the sun's rays. Further, the stylistic rendering of glowing light beams recalls an updated version of the traditional associations with divinity through the presence of light in painting.
Through Charlie Goering and Samuel Richardson's paintings, the viewer experiences a fragmented collage of signs and art historical allusions, ranging from the Shakespearean skull to the Lichtenstein-like stylized figure. Through meticulous renderings, Goering paints bones paired with dried leaves, describing mortality with the elegance of a Memento Mori painting. Vanitas symbolism is further communicated through images such as Ghost, which parse through numerical and color systems with droll amusement. Samuel Richardson's manic compositions of natural disasters alongside cartoonish figures further contemplate the tense relationship between the elemental and civilization through comically rendered emotive expressions formally echoed through the kitsch-y landscape.
- Dana Notine
The motif of hot weather has been employed in both film and literature to foreshadow feelings of unease and anguish, often leading to conflict or mortality. In HEATWAVE, this notion of energy is explored, engaging in a dialogue about interpretations and reactions that fire as an element can evoke. Through its symbolism, this exhibition delves into the duality of heat, inviting viewers to reflect on its significance.
Lydia Freier's compositions on unstretched canvas present deskilled, anonymous figures in hazy pastoral settings entangled in ritualistic conflicts, presenting turmoil and resolution through a lens of detachment and irony. A pseudo-religious tone is further explored through the altar-like paintings of Julia Policastro, who employs Proto-Renaissance techniques of architectural design recalling the trompe-l'oeil styles of Mantega or Giotto, updated with a saturated palette reminiscent of the sun's rays. Further, the stylistic rendering of glowing light beams recalls an updated version of the traditional associations with divinity through the presence of light in painting.
Through Charlie Goering and Samuel Richardson's paintings, the viewer experiences a fragmented collage of signs and art historical allusions, ranging from the Shakespearean skull to the Lichtenstein-like stylized figure. Through meticulous renderings, Goering paints bones paired with dried leaves, describing mortality with the elegance of a Memento Mori painting. Vanitas symbolism is further communicated through images such as Ghost, which parse through numerical and color systems with droll amusement. Samuel Richardson's manic compositions of natural disasters alongside cartoonish figures further contemplate the tense relationship between the elemental and civilization through comically rendered emotive expressions formally echoed through the kitsch-y landscape.
- Dana Notine
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Lydia Freier (b. 1999) is an artist and poet currently based in the Hudson Valley. Her work explores darknes without judgment, she is interested in those familiar spectra within the timeless. Through texture a slow urgency suggests a narrative in which it is the oil paint thinking, while the subject suspends itself inside a moment capable of transcendence.
Charlie Goering (b. 1993) works in painting, drawing, and collage creating artworks that focus on surreal juxtapositions of images and objets trouvés. The mysterious and poignant communication between colors and objects in space underscore Goering’s approach. Goering holds a BFA from Laguna College of Art and Design and studied at Florence Academy of Art in Italy. In 2017, he received the Manifest Artist Residency Award and The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. He has exhibited at SHRINE, Deanna Evans Projects, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Brownie Project, Steven Amedee, Manifest Gallery and Moskowitz Bayse.
Julia Policastro (b. 1992) was born in Philadelphia and received her B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art in 2015. Policastro creates intimate jewel-like paintings housed in artist’s frames which act as portals into invented scenarios and sceneries. She takes a “directorial approach” and her elaborately detailed meditations on architecture and environment are often cinematic in their energy.
Samuel Richardson (b. 1998) is a Richmond-based painter. Dabbling between painting, drawing, sculpture, and interior design, Richardson's current work is a product from technical elements that each practice possesses. Binding the divides between heaven and hell, uncertainty unveils itself in the hallucinatory realms of Richardson's work.
Charlie Goering (b. 1993) works in painting, drawing, and collage creating artworks that focus on surreal juxtapositions of images and objets trouvés. The mysterious and poignant communication between colors and objects in space underscore Goering’s approach. Goering holds a BFA from Laguna College of Art and Design and studied at Florence Academy of Art in Italy. In 2017, he received the Manifest Artist Residency Award and The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. He has exhibited at SHRINE, Deanna Evans Projects, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Brownie Project, Steven Amedee, Manifest Gallery and Moskowitz Bayse.
Julia Policastro (b. 1992) was born in Philadelphia and received her B.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art in 2015. Policastro creates intimate jewel-like paintings housed in artist’s frames which act as portals into invented scenarios and sceneries. She takes a “directorial approach” and her elaborately detailed meditations on architecture and environment are often cinematic in their energy.
Samuel Richardson (b. 1998) is a Richmond-based painter. Dabbling between painting, drawing, sculpture, and interior design, Richardson's current work is a product from technical elements that each practice possesses. Binding the divides between heaven and hell, uncertainty unveils itself in the hallucinatory realms of Richardson's work.