Roman Fine Art in East Hampton will highlight works by Brooklyn-based artists Lizzie Gill and Ciara Rafferty in Pastime/Time Passed, which opens Memorial Day weekend.
“I find it interesting that both artists, in their own way, slightly subvert our romanticized ideas of the past,” noted Damien Roman, owner of Roman Fine Art. “Rafferty’s work focuses on locales associated with family vacations and summer fun, but once we view these places in the present, their obsolescence becomes apparent and we have completely different feel for them. Our sense of nostalgic melancholy is heightened.”
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Miami Ready by Lizzie Gill. |
The nostalgic, retro imagery, splashed with color, represents the wholesome values and pleasures of “The Good Old Days” in Pastime/Time Passed. Pulling inspiration from the 50s and 60s, the artists glamorize the imagery of the American dream portrayed through old fashioned values and Hollywood romance; the richly nostalgic context of the people, places and icons of days long passed that now exist in a liminal space. These images of carefree summer fun and untroubled leisure occupy the dreams and desires of our modern sensibilities as the contemporary world flies by in hyper speed.
“Gill utilizes imagery from classic films and vintage magazines that unabashedly celebrate the era they represent and then she tweaks it by inserting contemporary narratives. Many of her works skewering the pitfalls of modern relationships including dating apps and the death of courtship,” Roman explained. “Romanticized imagery espoused by Hollywood and Madison Avenue fail to hold up to today’s less than glamorous realities. Both artists challenge us to confront our memories and feelings of the past, Rafferty focuses on iconic architecture and locations, while Gill confronts archetypes of times passed.”
Gill, who resides in New York City, is a mixed media artist who presents her work to be of retro American figures and activities in undefined time and spaces. Magazine friendly bodies and faces are cut and pasted amongst bright colors and shapes that prompts an unexpected exploration of innocence in pastimes and times passed. The effect is a time warped illusion composed of everyday life, human agency, and post feminism contemporary society. Gill has a degree in Fine Art from Skidmore College and has studied at the Studio Arts Centers International in Florence, Italy. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, Allure, Wired and Glamour, Spain.
Brooklyn-based Rafferty uses public architectural spaces to explore the psychology of perception as an evolving, preoccupied society has cast away innovative design and accessible indulgence in favor of lavish, international expense. Focusing particularly on the hotels and motels of the 50s and 60s of Palm Springs, Miami and Hollywood, designed by the architects of the time to evoke a hopefulness for the future for the American tourists, now remain a sad and empty image, stuck in time, leaving the fun-filled heydays a memory. Rafferty received a degree from the University of San Diego in Visual Arts and Art History and a masters from the New York Academy of Art. Her residencies include Terra Foundation for American Art in Giverny, France and the Altos de Chavón School of Design in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
The Gallery’s goal is to foster a new environment dedicated to recognizing and supporting New Contemporary Art movements by showcasing fresh, cutting edge artwork from their talented, new artists.
Pastime/Time Passed will be on display Friday, May 25 through Sunday, July 1 – with an opening reception on Saturday, May 26 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Roman Fine Art is located at 66 Park Place in East Hampton. For more information, visit romanfineart.com.
