Coinciding with the opening of “BLAB!” at Copro Gallery last Saturday was Yoko d’Holbachie’s “Genesis of Girls”. Over the course of her career, featured in Vol. 6 in 2007, d’Holbachie has created candy colored paintings inspired by the stories of time. One of her greatest inspirations is traditional Japanese folklore and legends. Her characters are non-human and androgynous with a feminine touch, found in her symbols of butterflies and birds representing fertility. Her latest solo show is a reimagining and exploration of the origin of girls from various cultures.
The paintings d’Holbachie references correspond to her own art and visual themes. For example, Botticelli’s original Birth of Venus may be posed in a classical stance, but Venus is anatomically improbable, her weight is uneven, and the background is clearly one of fantasy. d’Holbachie emphasizes this early style of non-realism with her own mystical, religious elements and strange creatures. She references another icon of classical antiquity in her version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a famously emotionally ambiguous painting. This opens a window for d’Holbachie to paint a deeper expression in the face of her character with a new sensitivity to lighting. Mixed in with these subtle departures are her more familiar rainbow infused images of goddesses, like her pouty Egyptian Sphinx and Buddhist bodhisattva. “Girls of Genesis” is still very much her cream filled, sugary world of monstrosities, but leaves a new taste on the tip of the tongue.
“Genesis of Girls” by Yoko d’Holbachie (alongside the 9th annual “BLAB!” Show) is on view at Copro Gallery through October 4th.
