Uncommon Beauty announces Nina Klein Solo Show on view until February 3, at 37 Clinton Street, New York
New York, January 14, 2020 - For immediate release
Uncommon Beauty Gallery, in collaboration with Space 776, is pleased to announce a solo exhibition, An Open Myth - reimagining gender and femininity, by Los Angeles based artist Nina Klein, at 37 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002. The show is curated by Mengna Da.
Crown, Acrylic on unprimed canvas, 2020
Using a variety of media such as acrylic, gouache and enamel paint on paper or unprimed canvas, Nina Klein creates her signature visual lexicon of symbolic shapes within the female body. The symbolic and iconographic shapes found within Klein’s paintings serve as vehicles to express themes of sex and identity, and pose questions about traditional gender roles and expectations. Klein subverts the male gaze by representing female experiences such as the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and birth as well as reimagining archetypal mythic female figures, such as the witch or the Virgin Mary, as subjects seen and created through a female lens.
Klein’s preoccupation with images that express careful attention by obscuring and disorienting the quotidian represent her investigations into the ineffable female experience. The title of the exhibition, An Open Myth, reminds us that redefining the conditions and ambiguity we encounter day to day is ours to tell, and indicates Klein’s way of confronting and naming the low-level ambient buzz of silence. Only by enumerating these painful, awkward, human moments are we able to take agency of them and ourselves. This unblinking and confident gaze stands in stark contrast to the exuberant color and the brash cacophonous beauty of Klein’s imagery. An Open Myth ultimately bears witness to a secret history. One that conveys the intimate thrum of discovering treasure after the dark, solo dives we make, searching for truth.
By creating enigmas, Klein tackles the long-time myth of sex and gender. And during this process, femininity is not all what Klein sees. Her most recent works, also included in this exhibition, unpack human experiences of fears, struggles, and contemplation, and the emergence of universality distinguishes her recent works from previous ones. For example, Horror Vacui (2020), Latin for “fear of empty space,” continues her intimate visual language and yet is underpinned by the kind of unease and longing shared by all of us during this global pandemic. While Klein keeps refining her skills and aesthetics, she is also heading towards a broader horizon, or perhaps, a larger black hole, as she revolves around a greater myth.
Horror Vacui, Acrylic on unpromed canvas, 2020
Nina Klein (b. 1987, Southfield, MI) is expecting to graduate from UCLA in 2022 and currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Her works have been shown widely in the U.S., including Aqua Art Fair, Miami, Glass Rice Gallery, San Francisco, Uncommon Beauty Gallery, New York, Barrett Gallery, Santa Monica.
Mengna Da is a writer, curator, and producer based in Brooklyn. After years of managing Xu Bing Studio, she is currently Curatorial/Exhibitions Coordinator at Open Society Foundations. She holds an M.A. degree from the University of Chicago and a B.A. degree from Vassar College.
Contact and Information: jeannoel.uncommonbeauty@gmail.com