In his depictions of the everyday, Arcmanoro Niles recalls traditional figurative painting while subverting in his choice of hues and glitter—and also introducing strange characters into the scenes dubbed “seekers.” These characters offer new insight and disruption to the people he pulls from his own life.
“The seekers are impulsive actors, in pursuit of immediate pleasure with no concern for consequence,” Rachel Uffner Gallery says. “Often rendered in violent, self-destructive, or sexual gestures, the seekers foil the slow contemplation and seriousness of Niles’ human subjects. Ultimately interested in personal journeys, Niles questions how and why people become the way they are. The narratives that play out here examine coping mechanisms and how people do the best they can with the tools and outlets available to them at different stages in life.”
Find more on the artist’s site.
Painter Edward del Rosario's theatrical, yet controlled tableaus carry cross-cultural references. Often in the artist’s work, each of the characters seem to have their own narrative or motivation, creating a piece teeming with both humor and surprising complexity, once absorbed.
Anna Weyant’s stirring paintings offer both autobiographical imagery and universal examinations of life’s stages. Recent shows, like "Welcome to the Dollhouse" at 56 HENRY, are contemplative and elegant in execution. That show, in particular, was a showcase of the artist’s cinematic sensibility.
