Plastics invade the paintings of the art of the Masters. The show runs from March 14 through April 27, 2018, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 15, 2018, from 6-8pm.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / PRURGENT
San Francisco, March 14, 2018, Telegraph Hill Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of recent work by artist Victoria Mimiaga. The exhibit "Wrapped" Food in Plastics II: The Masters plastic has invaded what is inviolate in the art world -- the paintings of the Masters. The show runs from March 14 through April 27, 2018, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 15, 2018, from 6-8pm.
Over the past decade, Mimiaga has explored the excessive use of plastic in our modern world. She addresses a consequence of plastic's ubiquity, its use is so commonplace, it has become invisible. In this collection of new works, Mimiaga forces the viewer to see plastic out of context by placing it in the most unexpected scenes, the paintings of many of the most well-known Master painters.
In an attempt to make plastic visible, Mimiaga has meticulously reproduced iconic paintings using the Masters as a vehicle to draw attention to the invasiveness of plastic in our world. There is no doubt in Mimiaga’s mind, that the paintings of Gauguin, Magritte, Manet, Diego Rivera, and others would include plastic.
“There is a risk in painting plastic that people may be turned off, but I’ve painted the aesthetic of plastic – strangely it can be beautiful as it reflects light in its transparency, and how it creates a glow around the item that it surrounds. It’s challenging, beyond a doubt. I see both the beauty and the ugliness in plastic and that compels me.” - Victoria Mimiaga
Following on the success of her first Food in Plastic show at the SFMOMA Museum Café, Mimiaga’s new series, Food in Plastics II: The Masters, continues to portray food in plastic with a twist of humor and playfulness, as she painted wrapped plastic around the bowl of mangos in Gauguin's “To Tahitian Women”, a clear plastic zip lock bag around the green apple in Magritte’s “Son of Man” and plastic bags for the tortillas in Diego Rivera's “The Grinder”. Every painting in the series is a statement of the irony of plastic and Mimiaga’s uncanny ability to recreate paintings of the Masters.
This body of work is a statement of our times. The owner of the Telegraph Hill Gallery expressed, “The familiarity with the paintings of the Masters is what draws you in but it is the anachronism that keeps you engaged. Victoria Mimiaga’s appropriation of Manet, Magritte, Vermeer, among others, and her focus on the pervasiveness of plastics amount to an artful gesture towards a dialogue not only on traditional art’s influence, but on plastics' massive daily impact in modern culture.”
Mimiaga is in equal measures infusing humor, condemnation, and provocation in her paintings. When plastic becomes visual again, we can begin the many conversations about its reflective aesthetic, it's role in our society, and our responsibilities regarding its use.
Mimiaga, was born and raised in Honolulu. She has a B.S degree from the University of Colorado. She studied art at the Honolulu Academy of Art, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA. Victoria is a member of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America. She lives and works in Marin County, CA.
Telegraph Hill Gallery www.telegraphhillgallery.com
491 Greenwich Street San Francisco CA 94133
Tuesday to Saturday 12:30PM-6PM
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Jenny LeCoq
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