New Old Histories
Past exhibition
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Featuring:
Charlie Billingham, Alexander Harrison, Andrea Joyce Heimer, Esteban Jefferson, and Tanya Merrill. -
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History is not an objective accounting of events. Rather, it is a series of stories told and retold in an effort to shape the world according to the whims and agendas of real people, as well as by the cultural conditions of a particular time and place. Histories are created, disseminated, and passed down, but they are also altered, forgotten, and re-shaped. New Old Histories presents five artists whose approaches to contemporary representational painting abound in narrative and allegory, developing our understanding of what is at stake in how—and by whom—these stories are told. The artists variously co-opt, critique, and upend conventions of historical painting, and in the process provide a lens through which to view the world today.
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Works
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Explore
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Alexis Ralaivao: Éloge de l’ombre (In Praise of Shadows)
May 15 – July 25, 2025 509 West 27th Street, New YorkFor Éloge de l’ombre (In Praise of Shadows), Ralaivao unveils a suite of new paintings rendered entirely in black and white. Working within the self-imposed parameters of a reduced palette, Ralaivao sharpens his attention to composition, light and shadow. In arresting portraits and still life tableaux, Ralaivao magnifies the most subtle of details at grand scale by strategically framing his subjects. Influenced by film noir, Ralaivao’s works absorb the viewer into a romanticized world of drama and suspense as if the viewer has arrived at a narrative in media res. -
Theodora Allen: Oak
May 7 – July 25, 2025 297 Tenth Avenue, New YorkAllen’s atmospheric oil paintings on linen depict natural phenomena and symbols chosen for their enduring presence in human history and culture, often drawing from mythology and medieval imagery. From hearts and infinity loops to rainbows and locusts, these subjects serve to underscore nature’s propensity for renewal following destruction. Branches of an oak tree, a powerful symbol of wisdom, strength and endurance, reappear. Through compositional devices, such as gates, windows, and architectural niches, Allen's illusionistic spaces create a dynamic interplay between inclusion and exclusion. Her scenes emerge as ruins burgeoning with life, offering glimpses into a realm where the natural world and the metaphysical entwine. -
Alma Allen on Park Avenue
May 2 – September 30, 2025
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