On Saturday, July 28, Corey Helford Gallery will premiere new works by over 30 artists in The New Romantics group show, curated by Caro Buermann. The New Romantics surveys this moment’s neo-romantic yearnings for paradise, magic and transcendence above the climate of political, environmental and social turmoil. The opening reception will be held July 28 from 7pm to 11pm.
“I’ve been living with this exhibition for nearly a year, but I’ve been living with the questions a lot longer,” says curator Caro Buermann. “There are many shows that celebrate beautiful imagery, but there aren’t many shows that tackle the implications of neo-romance and our growing attraction to the paradisiacal, the beautiful, and the magic that these images inspire. In today’s world, we are instantaneously exposed to a flood of bad news and images of terror which makes people long for safe places and redemptive perspectives.”
The Neo-Romanticism movement, which inspired The New Romantics, is not a new concept. Just as Early Romantic masters’ work was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism, as well as glorification of all the past and nature, this new generation of romantics reflect on the current state of their world. “They are artists who are sensitive to the current state of things and reinterpret the world through their figures, characters, or landscapes,” says Caro. “Not necessarily as it objectively exists, but rather as they are seeing and feeling it.”
The group show will feature over 30 artists, including Adrian Cox, Akiko Ijichi, Alessandra Maria, Annie Stegg Gerard, Bao Pham, Camilla d'Errico, Carrie Pearce, Dilka Bear, Erika Sanada, Hannah Yata, Happy D, Hirabayashi Takahiro, Iva Troj, Jana Brike, Joanne Nam, Junko Mizuno, Kate Zambrano, kelogsloops, Lu Cong, Mandy Cao, Marie Larkin, Meredith Marsone, Miho Hirano, Naoto Hattori, Nathália Suellen, Pruch Sintunava, Relm, Sarah Dolby, Shang Chengxiang, Shiori Matsumoto, Yuka Sakuma and Yumiko Kayukawa. The artists will be debuting brand new pieces specifically created for The New Romantics.
"[My painting in this show] continues the mythic narrative of the Border Creatures, a race of hybrid beings that live in symbiotic harmony with the natural world,” explains Adrian Cox. “In this work, I depicted Healer wearing the Fatherdress, a supernatural garment that helped her to become both mother and father to her people, and to save them from the threat of the Specters. As she rests, Glow Gardener, another Border Creature, serenades her with music. Glow Gardener is shown wearing a Spectral Disguise, a robe that allows the wearer to pass amongst the Specters unrecognized. I wanted this painting to capture a sense of calm and peace, hinting at a return to balance and tranquility in the Borderlands. Even so, Glow Gardener's disguise suggests that the conflict between the Specters and the Border Creatures is not entirely over."
“'Chaos and I' is a depiction of the intensity that chaos brings into our lives and our fixation with it,” says Relm of her new piece. “It's an energy that is extremely intriguing but once you surround yourself with it, it creates nothing but negativity. The look on her face is full of emotions we all have felt: restlessness, sadness, withdrawal and fear. The beauty that surrounds her in the form of gray rose skies , pedals and even her home is slowly being obliterated by the windstorm she is creating. The stormy tornadoes around her head create these suctions of destruction, a place that is all too familiar for her and very difficult to obstruct. I expect more as we near the deadline.”
Pruch SintunavaI says of his inspiration for the new work, “I see beauty in the way we grow trust to someone. How we accept the bond and all its disadvantages. The way we feel and understand their joy and suffer, sharing both pain and happiness. A rare feeling we don’t get to see very often. To be able to feel a warm present of one another, holding hands. Keeping each other against the destruction of this chaotic world. This one little feeling, like two tiny sparkles dive into sea of muddy water, is one of the only few things that still can make human beautiful.”
“My goddess archetype, a universal, rather than an individual figure draws attention to the powerful, timeless and enduring quality that women possess as a creative and nurturing force,” explains Marie Larkin. “Society has become increasingly anxious as we become more and more aware of how fragile the balance of our world is in terms of occurrences such as global climate change, the extinction of species and the threat of terrorist and nuclear attack. My warrior women hold the power of hope and renewal in the wake of these fears.”
The New Romantics will open Saturday, July 28 from 7pm - 11pm in Gallery Three. The reception is open to the public and the exhibit will be on view through September 1. The space is open Tuesday - Saturday, 12pm - 6pm. Corey Helford Gallery is located at 571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033.
