Brooklyn-based painter Elizabeth Glaessner's solo exhibition "Head Games" is currently on display at Perrotin Tokyo. The exhibition features 15 small-scale paintings and 2 large-scale works created using Glaessner's unique oil painting technique, offering visitors a glimpse into the depth and breadth of the artist's aesthetic sensibility.
Elizabeth Glaessner, Sphinx with arms, 2024, Oil on linen, 137.2 x 241.3 cm | 54 x 95 inch
Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli, Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin
Born in Palo Alto, California, and raised in Houston, Texas, Glaessner moved to New York in 2007. Her residency at the Galveston Artist Residency from 2019 to 2020 significantly influenced her work. During this period, Glaessner focused on materializing and experimenting with ideas to deepen her understanding of her own art.
Glaessner's creative process begins by dripping oil paint onto the canvas. She then uses industrial brushes, handles, and squeegees to push, spread, layer, shape, and wipe the paint, creating mystical and ethereal figures. These voluptuous, long-legged figures, often nude, are brought to life through careful layering of paint, resulting in an intuitive texture and a rich, tactile surface. Some works incorporate unique techniques, such as mixing small glass beads into the oil paint. The exhibited works condense elements of pictorialism, process, and performance, showcasing Glaessner's exceptional oil painting skills while suggesting that our self-perception and perception of others are formed through the interplay of imagination and reality.
Elizabeth Glaessner, Mimesis, 2023, Oil on linen, 40.6 x 30.5 cm | 16 x 12 inch
Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli, Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin
Elizabeth Glaessner, Grass Play, 2024, Oil on linen, 40.6 x 30.5 cm | 16 x 12 inch
Photo: Guillaume Ziccarelli, Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin
Glaessner's works consistently express themes she has long explored, such as narratives based on Western literature and Greek mythology. For instance, the Egyptian sky goddess "Nut" is often implied by an arched body. In the piece "Mimesis," a third figure observing the Greek mythological characters "Pygmalion" and "Galatea" appears, adding a new interpretation to the story by distorting the perspective. The small-scale paintings on display offer a valuable opportunity to closely observe Glaessner's creative process. While less bodily than the larger works, these small pieces still possess kinetic and material characteristics. They also serve as a means for Glaessner to experimentally explore poses, figures, and forms before transforming them into larger paintings.
The "Head Games" exhibition provides a space to re-experience Glaessner's creative vision. Her unique figures inspired by mythology and literature, along with the fantastical worldview created through meticulous oil painting techniques, are sure to captivate viewers.
Head Games
Dates：2 July to 31 August
Opening hours：Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00-19:00
Venue：Perrotin Tokyo
（PIRAMIDE BUILDING, 1F, 6-6-9 ROPPONGI, MINATO-KU）
Website：https://www.perrotin.com
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