Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to present Wandering Luminations, new works by Brooklyn-based artist Tara McPherson in what will be her third solo exhibition at the gallery.

In this exhibition, McPherson continues her ongoing exploration into the relationship between the mysterious realms of deep space and deep sea, imagining dreamscapes set in these unknown, unexplored worlds. Dark waters are combined with celestial motifs such as stars, meteor showers, lightning bolts and the glowing colors of Aurora Borealis. These new works contain the artist’s signature palette of pinks and teals, with a higher contrast in color values. Inspired by the pale/albino or bioluminescent pigments of life forms found in environments with an absence of sunlight, her imagined beings from unknown reaches of the void take on a ghostly presence, their otherworldly appearance further enhanced by unnatural details-hair formed of water or tentacles on some, waterfalls or mists pouring forth from the eyes of others. The female figures are portrayed along with other creatures such as wolves, polar bears and umibozu (dangerous ocean spirits in Japanese folklore, which have appeared in McPherson’s previous works).

Wandering Luminations features a series of works on linen, wood and paper. The exhibition includes the first circular panel McPherson has ever painted as well as her largest-scale portrait, to date. In this dramatic piece, a larger-than-life female subject with pink hair gazes directly at the viewer as a light source from beneath casts ominous shadows on her face. Her blue-skinned body appears to be composed of water and she is surrounded by numerous glowworm strands—silken threads which hang from cave ceilings, dripping with beads of sticky glowing liquid to entice and trap the insects’ prey.

Tara McPherson was born in San Francisco, California in 1976, raised in Los Angeles and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. In 2001, she received her BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA with honors in Illustration and a minor in Fine Art. McPherson’s artwork has been exhibited around the world and featured in numerous magazines and publications such as The New York Times. As an illustrator, McPherson has created comic art, covers, advertising and editorial illustrations for Warner Brothers, HarperCollins and NIKE among others. She has also produced numerous gig posters for prominent musical artists and bands. In 2006, Dark Horse published Lonely Heart, the first printed collection of her work. Her second monograph, Lost Constellations, was released in 2009 and her third, Bunny in the Moon, in 2012. A limited edition boxed set of all three books will be released in 2013. 

All images courtesy of Jonathan LeVine Gallery.

Jonathan LeVine
Gallery I
529 West 20th Street, 9th floor
New York (NY) 10011 United States
Tel. +1 (212) 2433822
info@jonathanlevinegallery.com
www.jonathanlevinegallery.com

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