Dio Horia is happy to present 'Better in the Flesh’, a curated selection of works by UK artist Ally Rosenberg, created especially for NADA New York 2024 that explores paradoxical relationships between disgust and desire; taboo and temptation.
A series of works comprise ceramic tiles and luxurious cuts of stone mimicking sinewy cuts of meat. A theme of carnality reveals contradictions within our nature, where relentless appetites and primal drives challenge our self-perceptions. The Latin root of 'carnival,' meaning 'flesh,' ties hedonism and indulgence with 'putting away the flesh' during Lent. Being made of flesh, desiring flesh, becomes entangled with a profound sense of sin. This collection reflects a period in the artist’s life in which he first rejected norms of his upbringing - pursuing queer relationships and embracing non-kosher meat - examining the intertwining of material, emotional, and bodily experience of psychological conditioning. Taboos of flesh merge together in a sickly-seductive melding of material pleasure.
Three works exhibited with a yellow background wall, derive from the artist’s memories of childhood mythology - the stories told, like Grimm fairytales, to scare us into submission and moderate our behaviours. Arms, hands and feet wriggle and writhe towards the object of forbidden temptation in a confused amalgamation of sensory memories and rehashed narratives. The buttery yellow of laburnum blossom - a tree with pods of poisonous black seeds, known to kill children - bleeds outwards onto the walls.
Finally, in the centre, a piece named Rest is For the Dead, consisting of six cotton/polyester tassels. Extending from his recent presentations of kinetic sculpture (as seen in ‘Muscle Memory’, Rosenberg’s solo exhibition at Dio Horia in Athens), these tassels twitch and wriggle at a slight disturbance, setting each other off into a frenzy of restlessness. Many such domestic details appear in Rosenberg’s work, reminiscent of the tantalising materiality he recalls from his childhood environment. The motif of tassels, in their camp functionlessness, came to him as a combination of the rugs and curtains of his grandparents’ home and the religious garment (‘tzit tzit’) worn by orthodox Jewish men.
Ally Rosenberg's artistic exploration delves into the intricate realms of human cognition, influenced by his background in neuroscience, upbringing in a traditional, religious family, and his experiences with sexual identity. This diverse foundation contributes to Rosenberg's distinctive artistic practice, where he takes an irreverent approach to the human body. Employing slicing, casting and modelling techniques with materials that possess structural qualities, he crafts a visual language to explore the essence of human existence. The interplay between materials and forms serves as a means to articulate profound insights into the complexities of consciousness and experience. He recently presented his second solo exhibition with Dio Horia - Muscle Memory. Previous solo shows include ’Long Shadows' at Dio Horia Gallery, and 'On Solid Ground' at Bomb Factory Foundation, London. Rosenberg's participation in group exhibitions, including '2 For 1' at Hypha Studios, London, and 'WINK WINK' at The Whitaker Museum & Gallery, Rossendale, reflects his active presence in the contemporary art scene.
In perfect alignment with NADA's mission to be a definitive platform for contemporary art and culture, Rosenberg’s solo presentation underscores how our instinctual impulses consistently challenge the elevated ideals we aspire to maintain for ourselves.
