NEW YORK, NY.- Marlborough Gallery announces L.egends, S.tatements, S.tars, a solo exhibition of new collages and video by Rashaad Newsome. This exhibition is the artist’s second presentation with Marlborough Gallery and premiere in the gallery’s 57th street location.
After the industrial revolution, heraldry—a key symbol of status and authority for the European aristocracy—became heavily incorporated into Baroque Revival and Beaux-arts architecture of the nineteenth century. It was an architectural emblem that asserted the identity of structures in the manner that logos are associated with brands in contemporary society.
In L.S.S., Newsome engages this assertion of identity in a series of new collages that further explore the relationships between ornament, architecture and heraldry. The artist employs the aesthetic of Baroque cathedrals and basilicas as a point of departure directly incorporating images of these architectural elements into the work. Additionally through his engagement of architecture, Newsome activates the human form as a framing device speaking to the influences of the Roman architect Vitruvius and his concept of geometry and symmetry.
Each of the seventeen collages included in L.S.S. contain three-dimensional sculptural elements on the frames and the work presented within them. In Rapture, the seven-by-six foot frame is adorned with carved anthropomorphic figures, reminiscent of gargoyles and chimera often used in medieval architecture, which overlook a three-dimensionally arranged collage. The collage curves inwards from the frame, conveying a dome-like structure enhanced by the optical illusive nature of the assemblage.
In Turn Up, the vaulted ceilings of Roman cathedrals become the focal point of a collage sunken into a leather gold clad frame taking the form of an altarpiece. The work beckons the viewer to peer closely through a multi-layered series of patterns and ornament in a similar way that Wild Magnolia is meant to be viewed through rather than “at” as the work shifts from a wall-based piece into the appearance of a stained glass window.
In a new video work titled ICON Newsome continues his longstanding collaboration with the New York ballrom and vogue scene, paying homage to legends and stars that assert their own identities and status with their performance practice. In this video, he continues to dissect religious architecture in conversation with the human form through the lens of transgender identities of the performers he captures on film.
Rashaad Newsome received his B.A. in Art History at Tulane University before studying Film at Film Video Arts NYC as well music production and programming at Harvestworks NYC. He participated in the 2010 Whitney Biennial, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Greater NY 2010, MoMA PS1, New York, NY; Performa 2011, New York, NY and the 2011 Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy. Newsome’s work has been exhibited, performed and screened nationally and internationally at such institutions and galleries as: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, Moscow, Russia; The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY; Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY; The Kitchen, New York, NY; MUSA, Vienna, Austria; The Drawing Center, New York, NY; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; ar/ge Kunst Galerie Museum, Bolzano, Italy; Carroll/Fletcher, London, England; Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland and the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana. His work is included the following public collections: The Brooklyn Museum of Art; The San Franciso Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art.
He has been the recipient of such awayrds and residencies as The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award, New York, NY; The Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; and The Rema Hort Mann Foundation Visual Arts Grant, New York, NY. Upcoming projects include: a solo exhibition and performance at The Art Gallery of York University. Rashaad Newsome lives and work in New York, NY.
