Luxe/Zeitgeist/Magpie!
curated by Sophia Macris
December 5, 2008 - January 24, 2009

Perception layers reality. Kerri Besse and Janessa Markgraf’s photographs of jewelry masquerade as things they’re not and show the graceful, luxurious intricacy of the quotidian. Matthew de Leon’s pen-and-ink drawings form the storyboard for a dreamlike videofantasy of color and exaggeration. Prints by Arielle Avenia interpret the cultural dissonance between objects of power and their romantically iconic, satiric representation.

Presiding over the exhibition is a grand chandelier created by Mary Banas and Lauren Mackler, which, upon closer inspection, is composed of broken items and their stories. These are things that sparkle and shine, and the dissection of them mirrors our cultural milieu—in this sense, these artists are prescient arbiters of the moment.

Arielle Avenia belligerently consumes anything that is not nailed down and regurgitates it into various formats of printmaking. Her work revolves around the interpretation and satire of cultural desire, value/worth, capitalism/consumerism, and artifice. Her prints are simultaneously grotesque and alluring.

Mary Banas and Lauren Mackler are MELT. MELT is interested in collections, stories, and when other people come out and play; evidence of the human hand, slang, theme parties, and the thing that makes you feel like you belong. MELT can be reached at: www.youhavereachedmelt.com.

Pink hair, axes, men, and flowers fly in a fantastical world of Amazon women. Matthew de Leon's latest video, "All the Queen's Women," follows a family's breakdown as a dangerous secret unravels their love and trust. Relationships, betrayal, and a desire to belong are continuing themes in his narrative video work.

Collaborating artists Janessa Markgraf and Kerri Anne Besse came together to create a body of work representative of the direction both artists take in their personal work. The images were born from Janessa’s edgy and graphic manner of photographing ordinary objects and Kerri Anne’s organic yet calculated expression of her ideals. This collection evokes a vigorous sense of beauty and simplicity through use of bold colors and restraint.

Curator Sophia Macris works for Barneys New York, won second prize in the Harvard Advocate Fiction Contest for her short story “The Legend of Johnny Valuable,” and adores Monica Vitti. Luxe/Zeitgeist/Magpie! marks her curatorial debut.

To RSVP for the opening, please contact us at info@tplusmgallery.com.  As the gallery is a private residence, we prefer the address not be publicly disclosed.