Richard Taittinger Gallery is thrilled to announce TRANSMOGRIFIED, the third New York solo exhibition by acclaimed South African artist Frances Goodman. We asked Frances to tell us about her exciting new show and body of work:

“Transmogrify” means to “transform in a surprising or magical manner”. That is the process that I wanted to explore, in both the subject matter of and the way I use my materials, in my upcoming third solo exhibition at Richard Taittinger Gallery titled Transmogrified.

The genesis of the new series of sequin paintings for the exhibition lies in the work I did during the 2020 lockdown. Unable to work with other people in a live environment, I turned to the social media platforms available to me.

The extreme makeup/makeover trend – already popular even before the lockdown – rose to new heights during it because people were isolated at home with a lot of time on their hands. What appeared to start as a very niche and exclusive drag subculture moved into the mainstream. “Makeup has become a subculture all of its own. In communities centered around Instagram and YouTube, young people gather virtually to look for inspiration, swap product tips, and master tricky techniques.”

What is fascinating about this new subculture is that it is taking place in isolation; it is a solitary endevour. People are applying makeup in order to perform within the confines of their own homes, dressing up, taking a photo and then just removing it. The very essence of what it means to perform has changed. Instead of dressing up and preparing to step out in front of an audience, the act of dressing up has become the performance. The act of viewing and gratifying oneself is as important as the approval of the very removed audience.

People are becoming their own social media avatars “crossing the boundaries of reality to create extreme, experimental and obviously doctored versions of themselves... Suddenly, your identity is just the beginning of the story: it’s the catalyst to a whole." The makeup transformations can be beautiful or terrifying, monsterous or magical, and often play into old beauty stereotypes. The goal of the process appears to be the change itself: the masking, the concealing of one’s own identity to reveal something other, something new, something full of untamed potential, a visual depiction of an idea of oneself. The actor is also the product. Because sequins refract, reflect and change colour according to your viewpoint, I felt that using them to transform the portraits I had photographed would highlight this theme of metamorphosis. They add a magical, ‘unreal’ feel to the characters portrayed.

The rise in the makeup/makeover subculture also ties in with my own long-standing interest in the beauty industry, and how it uses people’s insecurites and aspirations to further its own financial ends. The current trend is premised on consumerism; it is consumerism as subculture. The people within this beauty subculture seem to use the trappings of the consumer industry in order to transform and empower themselves. But the beauty industry has in turn realigned itself to use the vogue to its advantage, by strategically supplying their products directly to the seemingly empowered (or perhaps commodotised) to experiment with on social media, thus cutting out the need to invest in advertising campaigns. The users themselves become the ultimate product placement, proving by example the effectiveness and desireability of a company’s products. The two have become intricately interwined and entangled in one another. They are like some of the nail sculptures sculptures on the exhibiton: knotted and entangled in a passionate tryst.

I have been focusing on and refining the nail sculptures for the past few years, in the belief that a material can never be truly known, there is always more to learn. The sculptures are consequently in a constant state of transformation. The once tightly-intertwined forms at times evolve into probing pernicious protusions. In other instances, they unravel into ribbons, scrolls or discarded bandages that allude to digital signage with their flickering, impermanent empty messages on constant repeat. Sayings like “Show me your teeth” have the throwaway snappiness of song lyrics, but also act as a rallying call to assert your power.

The sequin lips of the Lip Glitz series appear as inflated beauty specters on the walls of the gallery, once again mimicking the imagery of makeup blogs and Instagram feeds. These lips are the signifier of the desirable body: the unattainable, mirage of perfection that teases and taunts us. They ripple and shimmer, refusing to hold their form, whilst remaining disembodied (w)holes: they are both iconic and ironic. Just as lipstick is applied to be smudged off, the image does not hold.

With its bright pop colours and metallic sheens, the exhibition is intended to be a celebration of this imaginary realm made manifest through our phone- and computer- screens from the confines of our locked-down, subdued 2020/2021 lives.

1. Sirin Kale, "Extreme makeup: how the girls and boys of Generation Z created a huge new subculture," The Guardian, August 27, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/ aug/27/extreme-makeup-girls-boys-generation-z-new-subculture

2. Nicola Moulton, "This is how Instagram and Snapchat filters are changing the future of makeup," Vogue, September 27, 2019, https://www.vogue.in/beauty/content/makeup- trends-instagram-snapchat-filters-changing-the-future-of-makeup

3. Nausicaa Renner, "How Social Media Shapes Our Identity," The New Yorker, August 8, 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-social-media-shapes-our-identity

SMAC Gallery is proud to present offstage, a solo exhibition of new work by multidisciplinary artist, Frances Goodman. By employing the materials of the beauty industry and interrogating the portrayal of women’s bodies, Goodman’s work draws attention to popular culture definitions that narrow the possibilities of female identity to extremes of consumption, obsession, desire, and anxiety. Though her work reflects a society in which these images and objects can define and burden us, it also celebrates the use of these materials and embraces the female body as a tool of empowerment.

Part of “The Red Hour”

Richard Taittinger Gallery is honored to present Rapaciously Yours, the first major solo exhibition of works by South African artist Frances Goodman in the United States.

“Rapacious” is defined as inordinately greedy, ravenous, and predatory. For Goodman, the term represents attributes that are only criticized in women, not men. With the spite of a sarcastic closing greeting, Rapaciously Yours investigates the complexities within the feminist pursuit of feeling at once powerful, self-satisfied, and desirable. In creating sculptural works with acrylic nails, Goodman defies the presumed superficiality of objects commonly associated with female identity. Works such as Violaceous (2015), made from an accumulation of false nails, evoke anatomical growths or scaled creatures. Their simultaneously alluring and unsettling qualities assert how self-ornamentation can act as a mode of empowerment.

Goodman’s enlarged talon-shaped nail sculptures, titled and patterned with designs from fake nail catalogues, further encapsulate their protective, totemic properties. Goodman also employs text to capture voices frequently subdued into silence. Car seats feature accounts from women, mostly sex workers, speaking about their loss of innocence and gaining of sexual power through experience. Feminine items that are often lost – pearls, necklaces, and earrings – transcribe their feelings of secret satisfaction, disappointment, or resignation.

Meanwhile, the immersive installation The Dream (2010-2016) is a seminal work that explores the social expectation of women to marry. Constructed from dozens of once-worn wedding dresses, organza, satin, and tulle, the work includes audio recordings from interviews with women divulging anxieties about how their true desires compare with the norm.

From prostitute to bride, Rapaciously Yours highlights the lack of socially acceptable ways for women to honor their innermost desires and ambitions. In her examination of beauty conventions, marriage traditions, and common material possessions, Goodman articulates both the self-imposed and external pressures for women to conform.

On view through April 16

Richard Taittinger Gallery is pleased to announce the representation of South African artist Frances Goodman (b. 1975). 

The gallery will present a solo exhibition with new works by Frances Goodman during 2016 Armory Week.

Frances Goodman is a multimedia artist born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Working with objects commonly associated with female identity, such as acrylic nails, false eyelashes, and jewelry, Goodman explores how their habitual usage evolves into obsession and neuroses. Her humorously dark sculptures and installations suggest self-conscious anxieties play a disproportionate role in governing women’s lives. In her examination of beauty conventions, marriage traditions, and common material possessions, Goodman reveals both the self-imposed and external pressures to conform to societal expectation. Her works rebel against the influence of the male gaze and a media-obsessed, mainstream culture. Meanwhile their glossy, sensual surfaces capture the underlying libidinal energy that motivates consumption, from a gleaming car hood to a metallic nail polish sheen.

Visit the artist page

"Though Goodman's work reflects a society in which objects can define and burden people; it also celebrates the use of these materials as symbols of empowerment."

— Jennie Lamesdorf

Curator of Francis J. Greenburger Collection

Director and Curator of Art-in-Buildings

LICK IT | FRANCES GOODMAN

Windows@Walgreens | 6700 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141

The mediums used in Frances Goodman's work are the materials and labor of the beauty industry. Goodman deftly deploys fake nails, false eyelashes, earrings, pearls, and sequins, among many other items found in the beauty aisle, to create works that are simultaneously seductive and appalling.  The repetitive and meticulous gestures used to create Lick It mimic the repetitive and meticulous labors of nail salons and beauty maintenance regimes. By employing these materials and efforts, Goodman’s work draws attention to popular assumptions that narrow the possibilities of female identity to extremes of consumption, aspiration, obsession, desire, and anxiety. Though Goodman’s work references a society in which objects can define and burden people, it also celebrates the use of these materials as symbols of empowerment.  - Jennie Lamensdorf, Art in Buildings

Lick It was created during Goodman's residency at Fountainhead Residency in Miami.

Presented by ArtCenter/South Florida

http://www.artcentersf.org/lick-it/

Photo by Silvia Ros

SMAC Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of:

LUSH

LUSH presents works by six artists of diverse backgrounds and practices, each exploring in disparate ways themes of excess, contemporary culture, historical and personal narratives, female identity, representation and eco-feminism.

FEATURED ARTISTS

Frances Goodman

Alexandra Karakashian

Chemu Ng’ok

Marlene Steyn

Shoshanna Weinberger

Barbara Wildenboer

STELLENBOSCH

1st Floor, De Wet Centre

Church Street

Stellenbosch, 7600

T: +27 (0)21 887 3607

F: +27 (0)21 887 7624

info@smacgallery.com

www.smacgallery.com

Let Down Your Hair is a site-responsive sculptural installation composed of densely wrapped cascading elements that resemble brightly colored ropes woven into a protective nest. Tendrils extend from the core and across the curved wall of the 55 5th Avenue lobby, exploring the limits of the architecture. As with much of Goodman’s work, Let Down Your Hair is deceiving: the slick, shiny surfaces, bright colors, and elegant lines resemble, at first glance, a formal study in gesture and materials. Upon closer inspection, however, the work reveals itself to be constructed of thousands of individual acrylic nails.

The mediums used in Frances Goodman's practice are the materials and labor of the beauty industry. Goodman deftly deploys fake nails, false eyelashes, earrings, pearls, and sequins, among many other items found in the beauty aisle, to create works that are simultaneously seductive and appalling. The repetitive and meticulous gestures used to create Let Down Your Hair mimic the repetitive and meticulous labors of nail salons and beauty maintenance regimes. By employing these materials and efforts, Goodman’s work draws attention to popular assumptions that narrow the possibilities of female identity to extremes of consumption, aspiration, obsession, desire, and anxiety.

The beauty industry hinges on implicit and explicit messages that personal betterment can be found in a product. Loyalty to this system can amount to extreme investments of time and money, leaving devotees little opportunity to consider themselves under a structure of control. Though Goodman’s work references a society in which objects can define and burden people, it also celebrates the use of these materials as symbols of empowerment. The very existence of the pre-fabricated Big Bird-yellow, zinc white, and electric blue talons that Goodman employs in Let Down Your Hair is evidence of women embracing their own version of beautiful, rather than what mainstream culture mandates.

Born in 1975 in Johannesburg South Africa, Goodman is fast becoming known as one of South Africa’s strongest artistic voices of feminism and consumerism. Goodman studied Fine Arts at Wits University, Johannesburg. On completion of an MA at Goldsmiths College, London, UK, she lived in Antwerp, Belgium, where she was artist in residence at HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts). Goodman has had solo exhibitions at the Goodman Gallery in South Africa, Aeroplastics in Belgium, (Art)Amalgamated in New York and TM Projects in Geneva. She has participated in major international exhibitions such as The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory revisited by Contemporary African Artists commencing at MMK Frankfurt and travelling to the Smithsonian and SCAD, Savannah, Lust and Vice: From Durer to Nauman at the Kunstmuseum Bern, Spheres, at Le Moulin, France and Beauty and Pleasure, The Stenersen Museum, Oslo, Norway. Her work has been shown at the Armory, ArtBasel and ArtBasel Miami. She has been invited onto a number of residencies, including Art Omi, New York, ISCP, New York, The Foundation GegenwART Berne, Switzerland, Recollets International Accommodation and Exchange Centre, Paris and, Artist’s Work Program, Irish Museum of Modern Art Dublin, Ireland. 

For press inquiries please contact: Nikki Buccina, QUINN | nbuccina@quinn.pr | 212.868.1900 x387

Let Down Your Hair is curated by Jennie Lamensdorf and sponsored by the Time Equities Inc. (TEI) Art-in-Buildings. TEI is committed to enriching the experience of our properties through the Art-in-Buildings Program, an innovative approach that brings contemporary art by emerging and mid-career artists to non-traditional exhibition spaces in the interest of promoting artists, expanding the audience for art, and creating a more interesting environment for our building occupants, residents, and their guests.

A Group Show of 20 Female Contemporary Artists
Curated by Indira Cesarine & Denise Krimershmoys

OPENING RECEPTION
Tuesday, October 20th
6-9pm
The Untitled Space
45 Lispenard Street Unit 1W

Featuring a Special Performance by Art Collective Legacy Fatale

Exhibition on View
October 21 – 28 | 10am – 5pm

The Untitled Magazine is pleased to present: “The ‘F’ Word: Feminism in Art” A group show of 20 female contemporary artists at The Untitled Space in New York City from October 20 – 28th, 2015. Curated by gallery director Indira Cesarine and Denise Krimershmoys of Vohn Gallery, the exhibit features a wide array of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and embroidery. Each artist individually addresses concepts revolving around feminism with works that either challenge gender stereotypes or embrace female empowerment, with literal or metaphorical visual language. Featured artists include: Annika Connor, Anya Rubin, Christina Kruse, Coco Dolle, CocoRosie, Elektra KB, Ellen Jong, Frances Goodman, Hye Rim Lee, Indira Cesarine, Jennifer Caviola aka Cake, Jessica Lichtenstein, Langdon Graves, Mari Kim, Natalie White, Robyn Hasty, Sophia Wallace, Tatyana Murray, Vexta, and Zana Briski.

The opening will feature a special performance by Legacy Fatale, an interdisciplinary performance art collective born in New York under the direction of artist Coco Dolle and co-leader Shawn Bishop. Its concept is based on recent archeological discoveries of the ancient nomadic Amazons, warrior women. Incorporating original music composition and costumes, Legacy Fatale‘s performances are evocative of tribal and pagan rituals, ceremonial processions and interpretative dances.  Legacy Fatale represents a hybrid breed of mythical and contemporary female archetypes, honoring a global buried matriarchal lineage. The collective has previously performed at numerous art fairs and venues including Miami Art Basel, Select Art Fair, Fountain Art Fair, Sensei Gallery, and Lincoln Center.

The exhibition “The ‘F’ Word: Feminism in Art” was curated in celebration of The #GirlPower Issue of The Untitled Magazine, and is part of the publication’s “Women in Art” series, which features a wide range of contemporary female artists in a series of solo exhibitions and group shows at The Untitled Space on an ongoing basis.

The Nirox sculpture | WINTER 2015 exhibition has 36 artists and 68 works on exhibition. These include a majority of outdoor pieces in the landscape with a selection of smaller indoor maquettes and works. The exhibition is by appointment or prior arrangement during the week, and open every weekend Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY ..... The exhibition Money Makes the World Go Round is all about money! Money, which is an omnipresent part of our lives and affects almost every aspect of our existence. Central to the works presented is the money which flows through society and its structures of power, and thus our relationship to money politically, socially and morally.


Carlos Aires (ES, 1974) uses the banknotes of the 30 richest nations in terms of GDP. In the work "Money Makes the World Go Round", he cut silhouettes out in banknotes, silhouettes which represent some form of power that money can provide. In other works, he juxtaposes a banknote with a picture of an event that has taken place in the country where the note came from. Aires' works point out the power structures and the relation between the state and the individual.

Lars Arrhenius (SE, 1966) has depicted the flow of a banknote from coming out of an ATM machine till it ends up in the bank again in his large work “Domino”. The banknote flows through all layers of society, and is used for both innocent as well as more shady purposes.

Frances Goodman (ZA, 1976) shows a new series of bank notes woven in beads. In earlier times, the beads functioned as a currency and woven pearls were in several cultures an expression of status and high culture. In Goodman's works one could say that the old and the new currency meet in one. In a series of new eyelash drawings Goodman makes notes on money as an ultimate symbol of power.

Andreas Schulenburg (DE / DK, 1975) has made enlarged dollar bills in felt. He has meticulously felted the banknotes, and he has replaced President portraits with images of the losers in the American society