Artist Jessica Lichtenstein Offers “PEEP SHOW” In The Hamptons

Jessica Lichtenstein, a lawyer-turned-artist, seeks to start discussion with her work.

Her new show, PEEP SHOW, opened on Saturday, May 25 and will continue to Monday, June 17 at the Vered Gallery in East Hampton. The show uses Japanese anime figures and what Lichtenstein calls “word sculptures” to examine female sexuality and pornography.

“Instead of buying and purchasing dolls, what I’m doing is positioning them into illustrations from pornographic comic books…” Lichtenstein said. “I’m taking these two dolls and sticking them into a world of my creation.”

She hopes that viewers will engage with the exhibit and question. She thinks that when people look at classic Monet pieces with nude women, they consider it art. However, when nude women are placed into pornographic pieces, all of the sudden it is no longer considered art.

Lichtenstein chose to portray nude women through anime because it was the “first way that captured my imagination to capture sexuality.”

Lichtenstein also took the opportunity to play around more with “word sculptures.” In a show that she displayed in a few years ago, she had two or three “word sculptures.” In this exhibit, they are much more prominently featured. She feels that stories are an incredibly important part of her art. She usually writes narratives to go along with her pieces.

When she was younger, she was drawn to the images of nude women. She found them “stunning and beautiful.” Nowadays, she enjoys it when people look at her work and imagine themselves as the main subject.

“It’s kick ass and everyone will love it,” Lichtenstein said.

Vered Gallery is located at 68 Park Place in East Hampton. For more information visit www.veredart.com or call 631-324-3303. For more information on Jessica Lichtenstein visit www.jessicalichtenstein.com>.