MAX XENO KARNIG: THE SCALLOP SHELL

Half Gallery is pleased to present “The Scallop Shell”, marking Max Xeno Karnig’s first solo exhibition in New York.

October 4 – November 2, 2024

The exhibition consists of four still-life paintings, two portraits, and two reclining nudes. Deriving their proportions and perspective from 15th and 16th century paintings of Christ lying dead, the compositions for the two reclining nudes recast these haunting pictures with female protagonists from 20th century European films.

These actresses, Nastassja Kinski and Myriem Roussel, appear again in intimate, small-scale portraits alongside a collection of related still-life ephemera that pull from the cinematic and art historical references that the paintings originally are inspired by.

The resulting body of work explores a sense of layered temporality and desire that reflects on the depiction of these subjects in historical western painting.

The paintings also consider the intersection and influence of later representations of these images in film and contemporary media, and how these various mediums and historical moments influence the contemporary lens that we view such compositions through.