Hashimoto Contemporary is pleased to present Modern Love, the debut US solo exhibition by Megan Ellen MacDonald. The Toronto-based artist’s latest body of oil paintings explore femininity and power through contemporary still life compositions.
MacDonald creates intricate vignettes using 3D software and virtual reality, then documents the scenes utilizing classical oil painting techniques. Informed by historical still life painting of the Dutch Golden Era, the artist’s rendering of her uncanny world are coded with contemporary iconography. Porcelain figurines and ripe, plasticized fruit nestled among glossy flowers, serve as memento mori and allegory for the femme experience, objectification and power. The artist’s commentary on objectification are embedded within the slick, manufactured subjects as commodity.
Saturated and impossibly perfect, MacDonald’s subjects depict feminine identity as “both empowering and messy” in their beauty, flaws and complexity. Each composition pulls apart the dichotomy of gender and power while simultaneously acknowledging the intricacies of femme identity, empowerment and agency. The delicate porcelain figurines within her paintings have come to life and glide through the vibrant tableaus filled with innuendo and symbolism. Fruits dangle from gilded branches dripping with glossy syrup or blood, creating an enticing yet unnerving scene - akin to the complexities of self empowerment and identity.
Hashimoto Contemporary 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd. Suite B - Los Angeles, CA, On View: Saturday, December 11th, 2021 - Saturday, January 8th, 2022
