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Plato Gallery’s ‘Exaltation’ is All About Extravagance

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Summary

  • Plato Gallery is currently presenting Exaltation, a group exhibition of 18 artists, now through August 16 in New York.
  • The exhibition reimagines mannerist art through a contemporary lens, taking cues from its embrace of excess as a means of survival in a world characterized by social, emotional and cultural upheaval.

In reaction to times marked by breakdown and transformation, artists are amplifying opulence and lavishness, which is the main theme of “Exaltation“, a fresh 18-artist group exhibition at New York’s Plato Gallery, open until August 16. The exhibit delves into the concept of creating mannerist art in contemporary times, portraying our period as a form of refined distortion – a loop where history repeats and emotional intensity serves as a means to endure.

Mannerism is known for its preference for flamboyance over structure, spectacle over harmony, and the concept of Exaltation expands upon this by immersing our current experience. Much like artists in 16th-century Italy dealing with the aftermath of the Sack of Rome, or creators in pre-revolutionary France reacting to decadence with Rococo embellishments, today’s artisans are translating emotional complexity into elaborate, discordant shapes, vibrant clashes of color, textures reminiscent of Baroque, and ethereal illumination.

Under the guidance of gallerist Elena Platonova, this exhibition draws inspiration from the recent resurgence of Neo-Rococo and broader art produced amidst widespread instability. Historically, times of turmoil have fostered artistic evolution, as seen during the end of the Roman Empire and the lead-up to World War I. Platonova chooses Doechii’s 2025 remix of Gotye and Kimbra’s song, titled “Anxiety,” as an apt theme for the show: “Anxiety mirrors the essence of mannerist art, which symbolizes the end of a harmonious era and abounds with asymmetries, diagonals, unanticipated colors, precarious arrangements, and various textures and effects that evoke strong emotions: fireworks, perspiration, reflections, lights, neon radiance, and the gleam of fluorescent material.

Displaying a diverse array of pieces spanning painting, mixed media works, and sculpture, Exaltation reinterprets art history and its traditions via a vibrant contemporary perspective: Alic Brock invites us to revisit Teresa de Lempicka’s Paris and Ancient Rome, Jacob Rochesters’ depiction of a sitting boxer echoes Caravaggio’s introspective and dramatic use of chiaroscuro, while Takura Suzuki pays homage to Dutch still-life with oriental light motifs.

In a world where every moment becomes headline news and fleeting fame lasts for merely three seconds, artists cling to the unchanging solidity of history with a heartfelt celebration of what comes after post-modernism, as Platonova put it. If the end seems imminent and one chooses to live in heightened emotions, longing for hopeful dreams and preferably in an elegant manner, who are we to question?

Plato Gallery
202 Bowery,
New York, NY 10012

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2025-07-14 21:25

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