Monya Rowe Gallery is happy to announce the primary New York Metropolis solo exhibition by Carson Monahan titled Phantom City. In Phantom City, seemingly odd moments are infused with an otherworldly presence, the place the boundaries between the bodily and religious realms blur. Imagery of lone figures or pairs participating in on a regular basis actions hints at an unseen thriller—an undercurrent of mysticism that quietly distorts actuality.
Parts of symbolism are woven into every portray remodeling the odd into the uncanny. Monahan heightens actuality with surreal landscapes that exemplify psychological quandaries. The environment are amalgamations of actual and fictional components whereas obstacles and partitions are used to characterize the unknown. Every panting depicts some form of intrusion or surprising incidence reminiscent of a mysterious whisper, a threatening scorpion, or the suggestion of a menacing presence. Using animals as sentient beings displays an intuitive understanding of the world that people typically overlook, emphasizing the stress between pure intuition and human ignorance. Animals seem displaying an acute consciousness, appearing as silent guardians or guides, sensing what lingers simply past notion.
Influences vary from fantasy, folklore, renaissance and mythology to goals and the unconscious thoughts. Monahan’s sartorial alternative of utilitarian clothes complicates figuring out the interval of every mise en scène, additional difficult the viewer to seek for their very own interpretation. Partaking with themes reminiscent of mortality, renewal, anxiousness, alienation and longing, Monahan searches for a connection between actuality and the unknown. The examination of time and the idea of impermanence suggests a stressed power and sense of surprise, but in addition indicators self-liberation and development.
