Towards is pleased to return to NADA New York with a two person presentation of recent works by Jackson Slattery and Sophia Lapres.
Jackson Slattery creates meticulous, highly rendered paintings that span from the sentimental to the absurd. Encompassing a diverse set of imagery, he often draws upon art historical references – including avant-garde movements of the 20th century – to explore the interplay of sincerity and cynicism within a contemporary painting practice.
In her paintings, Sophia Lapres considers the dense and complicated politics of fantasy – interrogating the discrepancy between personal desire, cultural desire, and the desire of images. Drawing upon film, popular culture, as well as her own personal experiences, Lapres creates intimate, atmospheric paintings that touch upon themes of aspiration, longing, and shame.
In 1c2d94ca50aba4f6eace078a2ca3bacf.gif (GIF 1) Lapres has painted 30 individual frames of a popular GIF. Featuring a young attractive couple in a pool – this widely circulated clip appears devoid of context – a malleable surface onto which viewers can project any set of their own perceptions on. Through her mining of popular culture, Lapres asks – does the ubiquity of something rob it of its significance or does this ubiquity suggest there is something more worth exploring?