The Family Jewels And by Appointment of Xir Royal Highness, Dorian, The Wallpaper Collection

Gallery Information/ Show Details

2012-01-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

The Family Jewels, by Hannah Barrett And by Appointment of Xir Royal Highness, Dorian, the Wallpaper Collection by Michelle Handelman

Exhibition runs from January 15 - February 19 2012. Opening reception on January 15 6-8 pm.
Join Hannah Barrett and Michelle Handelman for an artist talk on Sunday Feburary 12 from 4-6pm.
Tarts and tea will be served.

Stephan Stoyanov Gallery is located at 29 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11 am - 6pm, and Sundays 12 noon - 6pm. Telephone: 212-343-4240.
www.stephanstoyanovgallery.com

Portrait of Dorian Gray, by Michelle Handelman (in collaboration with Amelie Chabannes)

Heaven will smile on Us Again, Hannah Barrett, oil and gold leaf on panel

Description of the Exhibition

2012-01-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Stephan Stoyanov Gallery presents The Family Jewels, Hannah Barrett’s series of paintings and drawings depicting a hermaphrodite master race; And by Appointment of Xir Royal Highness: Dorian The Wallpaper Collection, Michelle Handelman’s selection of ambient video loops from Dorian, a Cinematic Perfume, a project based on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

In The Family Jewels, small Cranach-like icons portray an omnisexual elite enjoying their leisure in a fantasy realm reminiscent of William S. Burroughs’. Barrett creates an alternative pantheon by fusing the bodies of Hitler and Queen Elizabeth, ultimate symbols of blood-based superiority, and placing them in understated, highly charged settings. To accompany her first solo New York show, Barrett invites 2011 Guggenheim Fellow Michelle Handelman to exhibit photographs and videos from her acclaimed parable of decadence and narcissism, Dorian, a Cinematic Perfume. In this video installation characters and musicians of the underground ‘80s club scene act out the extremes of youthful beauty and aging decomposition as symbolized by Dorian Gray’s secretly blistering portrait. Dorian exists as a contemporary celebrity, destroyed by a vacant ambition.

While Barrett paints in oil and gold leaf on panel, and Handelman shoots in high definition video, both create a cast of morally and sexually deviant characters engaged in exclusive and rarified power games and rituals. Handelman’s lush glamour and Barrett’s meticulous craftsmanship conspire to reveal pristine surfaces that are shattered by conflicted emotions and dark history.

by Appointment of Xir Royal Highness

2012-01-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

This exhibition comprises a solo show of paintings and drawings, The Family Jewels by Hannah Barrett, and a concurrent show of ambient video loops from Dorian, a Cinematic Perfume by Michelle Handelman. These are two distinct bodies of work that share an indulgence in panoramic fantasies of history, gender and personality. The royal hermaphrodites of Barrett's Family Jewels, request for their debut the company of Handelman's Dorian, inviting them to a pretzel at the castle as they likewise join Handelman's characters for a late night cab ride.

Production Still from Dorian a Cinematic Perfume by Laure Leber

Joyous Entry, by Hannah Barrett, oil and gold leaf on panel