In her first New York solo show, Rachel Gregor unveils brand new paintings in Cruel Babes at Hashimoto Contemporary. This latest body of work transforms numerous tropes and characters which have prevailed for millennia through the artful craft of storytelling:
[F]orbidden love; ironic twists of fate; senseless tragedy. But, if it’s clear these stories are important to our understanding of our place in the world, how do courageous heroes, tragic maidens, vicious villains, or lovesick dopes fit into our lives? And where do we, our personal narratives of who we are, fit into these stories?
Cruel Babes shares Rachel’s wholly personal interpretations of these much familiar concepts through her own personal lens. Creating different versions of herself as the main characters, her series proudly shows us tradition through an entirely female perspective, and in doing so, allowing us to reflect on our own pre-conceived references.
In her own way, Rachel continues the age-old storytelling practice. Long before stories were written and set in stone, word of mouth re-tellings would lead to variations and undoubtedly, the re-teller’s own experiences would often seep into their narrations. Rachel’s part self-portraits, part re-tellings are a nod to our continued exploration of tales, proving that even in an age where all information is recorded, there isn’t only one truth and one meaning. There is still the need for humanity to explore both internally and externally as society continues to evolve – but also, to have empathy for the situations and lives of those before us.
Rachel Gregor: Cruel Babes
Opening reception: November 16, 6pm – 8pm. Rachel Gregor will be in attendance!
Exhibition Dates: November 16 – December 7, 2024
Please note: Holiday closure November 28th – December 4th
Hashimoto Contemporary
54 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002
Phone: +1 310-730-6164
Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm
For further information email NYC@hashimotocontemporary.com.
From press release //
Kansas City-based artist [Rachel Gregor] casts different versions of herself as the characters in these stories, referencing compositions and figures from well-known paintings in the art historical canon to create her mis-en-scène. The scenes don’t recede into the countryside but into a velvety, black backdrop, alluding to the artifice of the stories themselves and Gregor’s retelling. “I am taking on the roles of these characters,” Gregor reflects, “I’m just changing my costume between sets, and I am giving a recital.” By presenting these narratives through an entirely female perspective, Gregor prompts viewers to wonder how our perceptions of these ancient stories change over time, and what remains the same.
Gregor’s narrative references stem from all sorts of folklore that continue to influence Western consciousness, from Greek mythology to folk tales told through ballads. Her honey-toned rendition of Actaeon’s Hounds [above] shows a nude Gregor facing away from the viewer into the backdrop, posing as the bathing Artemis. Her now deceased Australian shepherd snarls at something out of view, while her other dog trails cautiously behind. The Cruel Mother references a murder ballad about a woman killing her illegitimate sons, and then wishing she could dress and care for children of her own children who, in the end, remind her that she is a murderer. A crimson shadow casted over the figure’s head washes up into the eaves of the tree, as a bleach blonde Gregor leans against it, toying with dandelions in each of her hands. Whether a woodland goddess, a lost babe, or a murderous mother, Gregor’s self-depictions invite us to place ourselves in these stories, to have empathy with versions of ourselves who may have lived in the past.
About the Gallery //
Hashimoto Contemporary is a contemporary art gallery originally founded in 2013 by Ken Harman Hashimoto. In 2023 the gallery announced two new partners, Dasha Matsuura and Jennifer Rizzo. Their roster consists of an eclectic blend of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. Hashimoto Contemporary provides a platform for artists whose identities and subjects have been historically relegated to the margins, as well as artists whose practices fit neatly into the canon of art history. You can find their galleries at the Minnesota Street Project (San Francisco), the Lower East Side (New York City) and Culver City (Los Angeles) where their three spaces organize new exhibitions monthly.
About Rachel Goldman //
Working in traditional paint media such as oil paint, gouache, and chalk pastel, artist Rachel Gregor (b. 1990) creates psychological portraits of young girls that tip-toe between realism and artificiality. Caught in a single moment between the mundane and the melodramatic, the figures are wide-eyed and wistful, frozen in a state somewhere between boredom and shock. In her latest body of work, the girls portrayed are encircled by their surroundings, usually backed up against a fence or isolated on a dock. The viewer stays trapped with the girls, as the expansive landscapes are often visually obstructed by a tree branch or the figure herself, preventing any visual wandering through the pictorial space. Botanical motifs are a common theme throughout Gregor’s visual lexicon, a nod to her upbringing of her family owning their own horticulture nursery, as well as being a broader symbol of fragility and resilience.
Gregor lives and works in Kansas City, MO. She graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2012 and has studied abroad at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with solo shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Zürich, Switzerland, and group exhibition participation nationwide.
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