THE MAGIC SHOW

THE MAGIC SHOW is a fantasy—dystopian futurism and sublime tenderness. The exhibition combines painting, sculpture, photography and various mixed media works from 18 New York City-based artists.

 

The show is an immersive experience, transporting the viewer into a sensory den of science-fictional decay, yet not a hopeless one. To amplify this feeling, Gogy Esparza, the show’s curator, has partnered with Brooklyn-based Joya Studio to create a custom scent for the gallery. Aroma diffusers mist the metallically crisp and erotic fragrance throughout the space. A custom soundtrack by Snowy sculpts the dynamic of the room, complimenting the raw emotion of the perfume and artwork. This layering of senses is intended to inspire the viewer—to perhaps evoke nostalgia, fear and fascination, all at once. 

 

The art is tragic, and most often, hauntingly romantic: 

 

Luke Barber-Smith’s faceless buildings inscribed with love messages for his daughters. Joseph Cochran’s candid portraits of communal joy in dark metropolises. Melanie Luna’s rich anatomical paintings of humans, sobering reminders of our present and imminent future. Phillip Leeds’ oversized Polaroids of futurist legends: musician George Clinton and NASA Astronaut, Leland Melvin.

 

This combination of mediums meld and interlock with industrial construction materials, creating cages of metal and mazes of concrete in place of traditional gallery walls.

 

This is the bloodline of the project—stories and lives wound together, against typical tropes and narratives. Reflections that could feel disruptive, or alluring, depending on how you look at them. A spirit that echoes the soul of Gogy Esparza’s Magic Gallery in Chinatown, NYC—once a consistently curated art space that encouraged and honored these exchanges. THE MAGIC SHOW challenges its viewers into a new future, to step into its world once again.