In the Garden of Moonlight
New works by Ray Caesar at Jonathan LeVine Gallery
June 28 through July 26, 2008
Gallery Opening Reception: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 7pm—9pm
NEW YORK, NY (June 3, 2008) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present In The Garden of Moonlight, a solo exhibition featuring new works by Ray Caesar. The Toronto-based artist returns for his third solo show at the gallery, having created a new series of large-scale original pieces and limited edition multiples installed in ornately designed frames.In The Garden of Moonlight is a collection of beautifully bizarre images, in which Caesar expands upon his signature style. A hauntingly captivating cast of doll-like figures are depicted with physical abnormalities, dressed in costumes from both the past and future, fashioned from deep within the artist’s own whimsical imagination. They appear in elaborate Rococo style interiors, peering at the observer with the innocence of a child, yet also possessing an underlying awareness of dark truths—their inner strength and courage seemingly in contrast with the fragility of their physical appearance. These characters are messengers, or spirit guides from another realm. Caesar offers them a window into ours, where he has created a safe place beyond the cruelty of humanity. They arrive carrying clues with them, layered in mystery and meaning, trusted only to eyes sensitive enough to witness.Ray Caesar has said that he is often able to access his creative subconscious through time spent in a waking dream state, bringing back memories and bits of detail, which appear frequently in his artwork. An expert in his digital medium of choice, the artist uses Maya, a 3D modeling program, to create his figures and the virtual environments in which they exist. His meticulous process incorporates elements of drawing, painting, collage, sculpting, and more, to achieve his completely intricate digital world. He has compared working in this software to the experience of lucid dreaming, as in both situations, one has the ability to control and manipulate a simulated reality.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ray Caesar
Working for 17 years in the Art and Photography Department of The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, Ray Caesar documented things such as child abuse, surgical reconstruction, psychology, and animal research. Coupled with inspiration from the dreamlike works of Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali and Paul Cadmus, Ray’s experiences continue to linger and present themselves through his haunting, evocative scenes, which are all digitally created. Using a 3D modeling software called Maya, he builds models and wraps them in painted and manipulated texture maps. The models are set up with an invisible skeleton that allows him to pose each figure in a 3D environment. Digital lights and cameras are added to simulate shadows and reflections, completing the effect of a mysterious and strange alternate world.
Les Trésors de la Tanière de Neptune
New works by Adam Wallacavage at Jonathan LeVine Gallery
June 28 through July 26, 2008
Gallery Opening Reception: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 7pm—9pm
NEW YORK, NY (June 3, 2008) — Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce Les Trésors de la Tanière de Neptune, a solo exhibition featuring new works by Adam Wallacavage. Inspired by nature, and organic sea life in particular, Wallacavage finds inventive ways to blend Art Nouveau and Surrealist influence into something “Biomorphically Baroque,†as described by fellow artist Lord Whimsy. Having created a new collection of his famous octopus shaped chandeliers, the Philadelphia-based photographer and sculptor extraordinaire returns to the gallery for what will be his first solo show in New York.
Les Trésors de la Tanière de Neptune (French for: The Treasures of Neptune’s Lair) brings together the largest collection of Adam’s chandeliers to date, creating a sub-aquatic spectacle on dry land. Striking creatures of varying shape and size mingle together in a shining sea of vibrant color, their curvaceous tendrils appear dripping wet and writhing with life. Self-taught in the traditional craft of ornamental plastering, Wallacavage uses this method to cast his trademark tentacles which he then paints in pigmented epoxy resin, adding iridescent powders and glitter to further enhance their eccentric beauty.The pieces—all functional light fixtures—will be shown as a site-specific installation in the project room of the gallery, fully illuminated and suspended from the ceiling. Complementing his under-water theme, the walls surrounding Adam’s chandeliers will be covered in custom designed, flocked-velvet wallpaper featuring a multi-colored sea kelp pattern, created by the artist himself especially for the show. This will be the third custom wallpaper Adam has produced for installation at Jonathan LeVine Gallery (after collaborating with fellow artists on the two previous designs) as part of his latest venture Curio Wallcoverings.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Adam Wallacavage
Inspired by an obsession with the ocean and a fascination with extravagant interiors of old churches, Adam Wallacavage transformed the dining room of his South Philadelphia Victorian Brownstone into something from the pages of a Jules Verne novel. Teaching himself the traditional craft of ornamental plastering, Adam evolved his new found skills into making plaster cast octopus shaped chandeliers as the final touch to his underwater themed room. Adam continued his experimentation by making more and more. He changed the shapes and colors and even collaborated with famed jewelry designer, Tarina Tarantino, who supplied the beautiful pearls for his pink glitter chandelier featured in his first showing at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in June of 2006. Beyond making chandeliers, Adam Wallacavage is also an accomplished photographer, documenting artists, musicians, daredevils and all things weird and wonderful. His first book, Monster Size Monsters, was released in August of 2006 through Gingko Press and spans fifteen years of his photography.
