Opening Night: Yoko D’Holbachie and Alexandra Manukyan at Last Rites Gallery

Last Rites co-founder Paul Booth, Alexandra Manukyan and Associate Director Erica Berkowitz

Last week, Last Rites Gallery in New York City opened two solo shows, “Sine Qua Non” by Alexandra Manukyan (previewed here) and “In the Dark” by Hi-Fructose Vol. 6 cover artist Yoko D’Holbachie (previewed here). Though Manukyan’s dramatic realism and D’Holbachie’s fantastical pop surrealism seem to lie on different ends of the contemporary painting spectrum, the two artists’ shows surprisingly complement one another with their dramatic lighting and goddess imagery. Both artists focus on strong female protagonists in their new bodies of work — while D’Holbachie borrows from folklore traditions to invent female deities of her own, Manukyan stages dramatic scenes that reference both the Renaissance and tattoo culture. Take a look at some photos from the opening reception by Paola Duran below.