NEW YORK, NY.- David Peter Francis presents Rainbow Room, a group exhibition presenting new and recent works by Sophie Kovel, Heji Shin, Ronald Sterling, and Kianja Strobert.

Rainbow Room is the epitome of New York glamour, where iconic skyline views, world-class dining, and impeccable service create unforgettable events. From star-studded celebrations to elegant gatherings, this legendary venue has hosted presidents, dignitaries, and entertainment icons — now, it's your turn.

Both in imaging the orchids on the grounds of Marjorie Merriweather Post's Hillwood Estate and the paths lining the perimeter of Mark Zuckerberg's property, Sophie Kovel's works in the exhibition pinpoint succinct nuclei of concentrated wealth, cataloging the inextricable ties between power and aesthetic infrastructures.

In 2006, Heji Shin was asked to cover the Chanel Fall Winter presentation in Paris, but upon being declined at the door, photographed those in line awaiting wishful entry. Masquerading under the genre of street style photographs, Shin's portraits solidify the runway-goer in the vulnerable place of not-yet-being-indoors. Like a freshly shaven dog, each attendee is frozen in the vulnerable state of not-yet-being (indoors). The queue holds democracy, where Cher waits just like the rest of us. Inside, she will leave the drag of waiting behind.

Ronald Sterling's assemblage lamps are made operable after purchase, delivered to utility only after the event of ownership. Arguably, one of the most utilitarian objects of all time, Sterling's lamps challenge practicality in pursuit of indulgence, almost entirely composed from uniquely ornamented horse toys. You can buy the same luxury bag both uptown and downtown, but it's only downtown that you can get a lamp in the shape of a horse on the same block.

A selection of Kianja Strobert's papier-mâché, gilded sculptures are presented alongside a new wall-bound work made from hundreds of glistening sequins. Strobert's works move through the aspirational characteristics inherent to advertisement and the experience of shopping, reassembled until they finally enter back into that landscape as luxury objects. Fields of pure color are framed in pewter, a once-precious, durable material ultimately replaced by porcelain. Metallic paint, image transfer, and glitter transform 7:30 – 7:31 into a gleaming mirage.

Sophie Kovel (b. 1996, Los Angeles, California; lives and works between Paris, France and New York, New York) is an artist, writer, and researcher whose work examines the economic, social, aesthetic, and ideological operations of nationalism. Selected exhibitions include the Hessel Museum of Art, New York; Petrine, Paris; NEON Art Foundation, Athens; diez, Amsterdam; Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York; University of California, Los Angeles; and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Denmark. Kovel has spoken on panels and symposiums at universities and institutions including Columbia University and the Brooklyn Public Library. Her work has been featured in Artforum, BOMB, Camera Austria, Frieze, Monopol, Jeu de Paume Magazine, and elsewhere. Kovel graduated from Columbia University's MFA in New Genres, where she was awarded the Agnes Martin and Andrew Fisher Fellowships, and was a 2022 studio fellow in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. Kovel's current solo exhibition Gigantomania is on view at Haus am Waldsee, Berlin.

Heji Shin (b. 1976, Seoul, South Korea; lives and works in New York) has had solo exhibitions at KAT_A, Bad Honnef, Germany; Le Consortium, Dijon, France; Kunsthalle Zürich; 52 Walker, New York; Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York; Galerie Buchholz, Berlin; Gaga & Reena Spaulings, Los Angeles; Galerie Bernhard, Zurich; Real Fine Arts, New York; and Anna-Catharina Gebbers, Berlin. Significant group exhibitions of Shin's work have been at Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Forde - Espace d'art contemporain, Geneva; Kjøpmannsgata Ung Kunst, Trondheim, Norway; Kunsthalle Bern; Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands; Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna; Museo Madre, Naples; among others. Work by the artist has been included in recurring international presentations such as Tallinn Photomonth, Estonia; the Whitney Biennial 2019, New York; and the Athens Biennale. In 2021, Shin was awarded the KAT_A Award.

Ronald Sterling (b. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; lives and works in New York, New York) is a sculptor, theater director, and educator. Sterling can be seen across Manhattan, selling his work on street corners and in Subway stations. He studied wood sculpture in the Armed Forces and National Police Vocational Training School of the Dominican Republic, where he later taught. He has taught at Infotep Univeristy in Santo Domingo, and three schools in Washington Heights. In 1993, Sterling made the presidential chair for President Joaquín Balaguer. He has presented his works in the Museum of Man, Museum of Modern Art, Casa de Bastida Museum, Faro a Colon Museum, Natural History Museum, Taino Museum, the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, the House of Culture in New York, and the Santo Domingo Aquarium. As a theater director, he has presented plays at United Palace, Symphony Space, Riverbank Park Theater, Hostos Community College, Lehman Center, and more. Sterling has served as a representative for the US at a Pan-American night in Santo Domingo, for City College at the White House for Dominican Carnival, and has accompanied the Dominican Consulate General to the United Nations.

Kianja Strobert (b. 1980, New York, New York; lives and works between Hudson, New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts) work is at the intersection of found image, three dimensional forms, installation and painting. Her work was recently acquired into the permanent national collections of The Centre National des Arts Plastiques, FR and The US Embassy in Mozambique. Her solo exhibitions include The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; ArtOMI, NY; The Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA; Campoli Presti, FR; Marinaro Gallery, NY; Zach Feuer, NY and The Tilton Gallery. She has exhibited extensively in group exhibitions including The Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, TX; Vox Populi, PA; Gavin Brown Enterprises, NY; Harris Lieberman, NY; and many others. She received her BFA from The Art Institue of Chicago and her MFA from Yale University. Strobert is an Assistant Professor of Art, Film, and Visual Studies at Harvard University. In 2026, she was awarded the 2026–27 Rome Prize Fellowship and is currently in residency at the American Academy in Rome.