Koslov Larsen is pleased to present a group show for the commencement of the fall art gallery season. Earthly Delights walks us down a path of fantasy and fiction, through the winding walkways of the mind and out into the sun of a world crafted by imagination. This exhibition largely centers on the Fantastical Feasts by Claire Rosen, a series of whimsical panoramic photographs depicting animals reveling around elaborate banquet tables, visually inspired by the Dutch Masters and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. From honeybees to hedgehogs to elephants, photographed across the world in collaboration with nature preserves and animal rescues, the images communicate a sense of humanity intrinsic in nature, a peculiar and yet profound kinship. “The feasts invite the viewers to reflect on the nature of society, our relationship and responsibility to the creatures we share the planet with.” Each staged image captures a magical moment which, while rooted firmly in reality, transports us directly into the realm of imagination. Rosen’s Fantastical Feasts series was exhibited earlier this year at AIPAD’s The Photography Show in New York City where it captured the attention of critics and collectors alike to much acclaim. The works were concurrently curated into the second edition of AIPAD’s Monumental exhibition.
Also included in Earthly Delights is the work of Amanda Marchand, Torrie Groening, Margeaux Walter, and Kelda Van Patten. Marchand breaks nature down into its most abstracted forms through constructed lumen prints, exploring the relationship between endangered flora and fauna and humanity’s mark on time. Margeaux Walter’s playful trompe l’œil engages the viewer in staged, site-specific installations in the environment which toe the line between what is real and what is constructed and sensationalized, echoing a similar dissonance found in our current political and social landscape. Van Patten’s constructed photographs take us through layers of time and intervention, occupying a liminal space between artifice and truth as we delve through the many stages of physical and digital processing to arrive at a “final” image in a permanent state of suspense. Groening creates scenes of self-contradiction, bite-sized worlds which compel questioning and inspire fantasy.
Throughout the exhibition, we find tension between that which is apparent and that which lies below the surface, scratching at the edges of our comprehension and animating limitless possibilities. Earthly Delights beckons us into a world which we will surely emerge from changed.
The show will be on view from September 6 through October 18, 2024.
