NEW YORK, NY.- “Objects of Desire” is the first in a series of curated exhibitions at Bernarducci Gallery's new location in Chelsea. Frank Bernarducci as curator has selected paintings by both Gallery artists and invited painters who are important to the contemporary realist painting scene in New York.

‘Desire’ is one of the most elemental feelings that humans possess. To wish for, long for, and crave. Our knowledge and understanding of this fundamental emotion is often difficult to conceptualize, so we might attempt to compartmentalize our desires, whether it’s for a piece of cake, an inanimate object such as a car or another human being.

Each artist featured in this exhibition explores his/her own individual emotional, physical, and material desires through the use of meticulous precision and detail. In Cuchi’s Sweetie Dogs John Baeder pays homage to the fast-disappearing American subculture of Food Trucks and Roadside Diners. His paintings are a clear representation of his desire to memorialize quickly-dissolving character and diversity of an expansive American pioneering spirit.

In Spring Snow, David Graeme Baker depicts a young woman longing to halt the changing of the seasons. She literally attempts to hold onto the winter by clutching the hand of her snowman friend.

Bo Bartlett displays an emblematic image of desire in his still life Natural Selection. Bananas with their phallic shape symbolically have connections to all things exotic.

Luigi Benedicenti presents a seductive still life of pears in Madernasse. With the skin of the candied pears crackling and peeling ever so delicately, they truly depict forbidden fruit, tempting the viewer to take - just one bite.

Antonio Cazorla demonstrates a devotion to his Spanish roots in The Promised Land. With a backlit view of his daughter on the beach this Mediterranean coastline is depicted as a place of serenity, creating a true desire for paradise and joy.

Emily Copeland emphasizes an ironic desire for wealth and money in her piece Buckaroo Bank. This nostalgic miniature slot machine from some penny arcade indicates how far people will go to fulfill a desire for a fast buck or fulfill a dream of easy money.

Ester Curini depicts an archetypal representation of desire in her piece Nero. Symbolically, rabbits are the animal embodiment of fertility, abundance, vulnerability, and procreation.

Photographer Sally Davies depicts a desire to preserve a city for what it truly is without gentrification. Yonah Shimmel represents an unapologetic and authentic view of city life, complete with the blending of cultures that make it a truly captivating and exciting place to live.

Vincent Desiderio captures an informal portrait of his joyful, barefoot wife in her wedding dress in his painting entitled, Bride. There is a clear desire by the artist to see the warmth and happiness that emanates from her on what is traditionally the happiest day of her life.

There is a desire for many young families to own their own home. There is simply no better feeling of success than to have worked hard to earn a place to call their own and Peter Drake captures this perfectly in his ironic portrayal, People Stroking Their House 1.

Emily Eveleth illustrates a deliciously decadent donut in her painting, Degrees of Artifice. A sense of salacious craving and temptation arise upon viewing the large-scale dessert.

In Dianne Gall’s narrative If I Am Not Perfect by Tomorrow, a sense of endless waiting and longing is created. This piece displays that the young woman is not necessarily the object of desire, but rather, that she is yearning for hers to be fulfilled.

Nicole Gordon provides a non-objective desire in her piece Summer Nights. In her own words, Gordon strives to create work that “is not a mystery that is meant to be solved by the viewer, but rather something that puts them in a unique place and causes them to have thoughts that are out of the ordinary.”

In All of This is Temporary, Stephanie Hirsch applies intricate beading and embroidery in order to fulfill her goal of creating work that shines a positive light on a person’s inner desires and struggles. Hirsch strives to delve into the deeper or double meanings of words and sayings with both humor and enlightenment.

Curt Hoppe depicts a refreshing change to the typical female objectification that has been seen in the canon of art history when it comes to objects of desire. In his portrait of author Kurt Thometz, Hoppe depicts an attractive older man, inferring that men can be as equally desirable as and lusted after.

In Aram by Park Hyung Jin, we see only half of a young woman’s face, barely detectable underneath dark windswept hair. An ambiguous sense of female seduction is elicited from this small, powerful piece.

Cheryl Kelley displays a nostalgic and material desire for classic cars at a time when the ‘American Dream’ was at its peak. Chevy in the Park transports the viewer back to 1950s America with her representation of the classic 1956 Chevy painted in a New Precisionist style.

Neil MacCormick establishes a reticent and reserved portrayal of his life partner Hailey in One Day at Rest, Untitled 18 (9:06pm). The miniature scale of the painting on paper paired with the monochromatic blueish color scheme draws the viewer in to witness an intimate moment of desire for inner peace by the model, seated on her yoga mat.

In Word Became Flesh, Sylvia Maier captures the personality of the notable African American writer and art critic Antwaun Sargent. Her extol for his character and the work he does for contemporary black art is meant to be celebrated in this piece.

G. Daniel Massad emphasizes a neoclassical tone in his piece Mrs. Earth. The apple, resting atop Roman-carved bricks within the golden ratio composition alludes to man’s original forbidden desire.

Alyssa Monks protests the idea of female objectification in her piece I Said No. The figure turns away from the audience, hands blocking us from getting any closer conveying the transparent message of refusal to succumb to stereotypical images of the female nude.

In BWOM! The Invincible Iron Man, Sharon Moody captures a desire to return to childhood. The Trompe l’oeil quality makes the viewer feel as though they can reach out and turn the pages, reminding them of the fond memories of growing up with superhero icons, and a love for collecting comic books.

In Pack, Adam Normandin captures a predatory sense of desire with a pack of wolves staring directly at the viewer, daring them to step closer. A juxtaposition of primal instincts within an urban landscape capture the conflicting animalistic desires that exist among modern morals.

Mario Robinson provides a quiet reminder of adolescence in his watercolor, Cruiser. The soft yet bright color palette and use of watercolor paint illustrate the artist’s bicycle on the Jersey boardwalk and bring a satiated desire of calm and benevolence.

Steven Salzman provides a Minimalist abstraction approach to demonstrating the power of interference paints in Beam Drop. Not only is there a desire for the participation of the audience in witnessing the changing of colors of the paints right before their eyes, but there is an additional longing to create artwork strictly for visual pleasure, separate from the political trends seen in much of today’s contemporary art.

Bernardo Siciliano is an artist born in Rome and being of Italian decent large family dinners are the norm - always special and ever desirable. Siciliano highlights these memories in his piece The Dinner Party.

In Transamerica, Nathan Walsh highlights a reflected storefront view of San Francisco. His use of vibrant colors and geometric shapes depict a desire to assimilate cultures in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

As with the variety of artists exhibiting, there exists a myriad of desires. They range from being primal and emotional to nostalgic and materialistic. Each artist’s expression of desire is valid and unique; together, a cohesive demonstration of objects of desire is created.

Objects of Desire, on view June 14 – July 17, 2018. Bernarducci Gallery is founded by Frank Bernarducci and located at 525 West 25th Street, New York, New York, 10001, 212-593-3757.