Kylie Manning’s first solo exhibition with anonymous gallery, “Zweisamkeit – Being In Two is No More Than Double Solitude” features four large-scale oil paintings made through the course of the pandemic. The show open through June 12—titled the German word for “togetherness”—displays Manning’s mystically romantic style, which has laid the groundwork to explore themes, like solitude and camaraderie, familiar for many of us after a time of social isolation.
Kylie Manning, “Vorfreude – awaiting pleasure is itself a pleasure,” 2021, Oil on Canvas, 64 x 96 inches; courtesy of the artist and anonymous gallery.
Influenced by past work in commercial fishing, Manning’s understanding of the movement of water shines in her use of soft, aqueous brushstrokes that make her choice of oil paint appear as if it were a heavily pigmented watercolor. These fluid, spontaneous markings support the greater narrative of the works, where the figures depicted are simultaneously intertwined and disconnected, both together and alone amid Manning’s gestural landscapes of color.
Leaving us with thoughts of both intimacy and abandonment, viewers can expect to find on view works like the cool-toned Vorfreude – awaiting pleasure is itself a pleasure, the titular Zweisamkeit – being in two is no more than doubled solitude, and a gathering of figures coupled, carrying one another, Piggy.
Installation view of Kylie Manning’s “Zweisamkeit – Being In Two is No More Than Double Solitude,” courtesy of the artist and anonymous gallery.
