Rachel Lachowicz: The Gravity of Color

Shoshana Wayne Gallery is pleased to present The Gravity of Color by Rachel Lachowicz. This is the Los Angeles-based artist’s eighth solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view February 3rd through March 16th, 2024, with an opening reception Saturday, February 3rd from 4-6pm.

Lachowicz’s newest body of work utilizes materiality as a lens to examine our reality through color and geometric abstraction. Materiality has been a through line in Lachowicz’s work, and through her use of cosmetics the artist attempts to break down strict and outdated binaries of gender. Where previous works have addressed these topics through direct representation and interpretations of the western art historical canon, Lachowicz has shifted her focus to geometric abstraction in an effort to make sense of the systems and laws which define our existence.

Many of the works in The Gravity of Color were born from the artist’s interest in quantum physics and cosmology, and showcase a desire to illustrate the intangible. Works like Time (2024), Deep Weave (2024), and Radiofrequency (2024) are abstract representations of longitudinal waves, multiverse theory, and radiofrequency radiation. Depicting these monumental ideas through her signature medium of pressed-eyeshadow allows Lachowicz to examine them at a granular level, shifting the scale to something relatable. Etymology further strengthens a connection between cosmetics and cosmology, as both words share the Greek root of cosmos/kosmos. This shared root roughly translates to ‘order’ or ‘proper arrangement’ and by representing the forces which order our universe through makeup, Lachowicz illuminates and strengthens these connections.

Lachowicz’s engagement in geometric abstraction and desire to experiment with materials situates her in a lineage of California artists stretching back to the 1950’s. Abstract eyeshadow pieces in the gallery’s main space are reminiscent of works by Southern California’s Abstract Classicists, while also drawing inspiration from Victor Vasarely and Joseph Albers. In the second gallery, Lachowicz has created two sculptures: Granularity of Space (2024) and Packets of Light (Yellow Field) (2024), which feature powder-coated eyeshadow tins. The two works evoke the Finish Fetish movement of the 1960’s, but the artist’s decision to combine cosmetic tins with industrial material puts a feminist spin on this male-dominated movement. While previous exhibitions sought to directly recreate iconic works of art, works in The Gravity of Color are wholly original outputs.

Material relationships lie at the center of Lachowicz’s newest pieces, and by showing the links between paint and cosmetics the artist further blurs the line between the two. While materiality has always been central to her practice, recent work sees Lachowicz taking this interest a step further and creating ‘hybrid’ pieces that combine lipstick and oil paint. These are unlike the lipstick-coated canvases and sculptures present in past bodies of work, and appear closer to gestural works of abstract painting than anything Lachowicz has created before. Powder-coating sculptures of enlarged eyeshadow tins furthers the artist’s explorations of material relationships, as Lachowicz sees a link between the industrial practice and her use of eyeshadow powder as paint. A guiding principle of Lachowicz’s work is her use of ‘other’ materials, which she sees as a way to ‘other’ her oeuvre within the art world due to the materials she employs. In The Gravity of Color, Lachowicz continues to make a case for the inclusion of cosmetics as a form of painting, and demonstrates how structurally similar the two mediums are.

As Lachowicz investigates the makeup of our universe in her signature medium of lipstick and eyeshadow, she represents larger-than-life ideas on a human scale. Varying relationships between scale lie at the heart of The Gravity of Color, and by shedding light on these relationships Lachowicz helps viewers ask philosophical and scientific questions about the nature of our existence. The eyeshadow dust that comprises the colors in Lachowicz’s work is not unlike the cosmic dust which forms our universe, and illustrating this allows us to see the gravity that color holds.