Monya Rowe Gallery is pleased to announce a two-person exhibition featuring new paintings by Mary DeVincentis and Anastasiya Tarasenko. Art often uses humor or irony to subvert serious issues. This exhibition brings together two artists, working in very different ways, whose artistic strategy is frequently concerned with personal, social and political messages through satire, allegory and metaphor. DeVincentis and Tarasenko both engage in a personal narrative to address universal subjects.
DeVincentis continues to explore mythology and memory through the imagined and experienced. Her work often depicts animals and people set within nature. The protagonists range from being seemingly at ease with oneself to confronting a personal quandary. A quiet spirituality radiates from DeVincentis’s playful paintings. Her characters are on a personal and mystical journey as they confront the unknown. DeVincentis is continually responding to her surroundings. For this exhibition, she explores the new beginning and return of light that Spring offers. Themes such as rebirth and renewal are used to illustrate the fleeting nature of life.
Tarasenko’s new body of work is also concerned with restoration and rebuilding. The paintings in this exhibition explore the introspection that accompanies personal relationships, ranging from a lover to friends. In Under Construction (2023-2024), a procession of women carrying large stones in an archaic factory setting build a statue of a woman. The title implies personal growth and failure. The statue, a self-portrait, doesn’t depict an idealized version of a female nude that is so often seen in art history and contemporary culture. Tarasenko confronts historical objectification of women by depicting a more realistic and relatable representation. Her work critiques feminine gender roles and hierarchical power, while examining how one relates to others and how one is perceived.
