Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1983, Lauren Rinaldi stands in a class of her own among contemporary, empowered female artists. Representative – an exclusive exhibition hosted by Paradigm Gallery + Studio® in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – personifies Rinaldi’s figurative style and the sociopolitical tumult of 21st-century America.
As the latest of Rinaldi’s four solo exhibitions at Paradigm Gallery, Representative opens by appointment only on August 28, 2020, through September 19, 2020.
Those who have never viewed Rinaldi’s work will be awash in vibrant colors, and none will walk away with the same perspective on the seemingly immutable injustices facing female politicians today.
Representative chooses not to feature classic portraits but rather cropped and zoomed studies of the subject’s body and fashion from the neck down. This choice shines a light on how female politicians’ physical appearance and clothing often comes under scrutiny in media, not their accomplishments or policies.
Take, for example, Rinaldi’s brilliant presentation of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s black jacket transposed to a fuchsia hew. Senator Kyrsten Lea Sinema’s thigh-high boots also make an appearance.
What is most intriguing about Rinaldi’s exhibition is one’s ability to deduce her art subjects without seeing their faces. The statement on female identity, or lack thereof, bellows loudly.
At face value, Representative seeks to call-out the political discrimination and infantilization that women in politics experience every day, but fans of Rinaldi know she suggests much more in her paintings.
Some seek to divide and deride women to perpetuate the hypocrisy of a woman’s so-called place in modern America. How are women to fulfill their potential in a country that still undervalues their role in society? Each work in Representative culminates towards Rinaldi’s answer: We are stronger together than we are apart.
For more information on when to view the exhibition, visitors can contact Paradigm Gallery by email at info@paradigm-gallery.com, or make a call to schedule an appointment.