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Ilona Szwarc: Virgin Soap

Past exhibition
September 4 - October 16, 2021
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Overview
Ilona Szwarc, A perfect rose if “odd”, so is an imperfect rose, 2020
Ilona Szwarc, A perfect rose if “odd”, so is an imperfect rose, 2020

Diane Rosenstein Gallery is pleased to announce Virgin Soap -- a solo exhibition of photographs and sculpture by Ilona Szwarc.  In this new body of work, the Polish American artist documents herself casting a model’s torso in silicone and plaster. The model lies prone on a table, her breasts exposed, classically posed against an electric blue backdrop. A perverse tutorial proceeds: Szwarc stands behind the model, a presence at once intimate and coercive. The artist binds her subject’s breasts with laces to measure them, then covers the model’s breasts, shoulders, and mouth in green silicone. 

 

As a female artist with a focus on self-portraiture, Ilona Szwarc explores themes of identity, transformation, and the dopplegänger - an inquiry rooted in her immigrant experience.  Szwarc’s work is concerned with rendering her experience visible in a way impossible in language. Here, the artist plays Pygmalion, unsure where the boundary lies between the real and the fake. 

 

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Works
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap (Installation), 2021 Platinum silicone, stainless steel, wood, plaster, acrylic, framed archival pigment print, mdf, and paint
    Ilona Szwarc
    Virgin Soap (Installation), 2021
    Platinum silicone, stainless steel, wood, plaster, acrylic, framed archival pigment print, mdf, and paint
  • Ilona Szwarc I am on display, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    I am on display, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc A perfect rose if "odd", so is an imperfect rose, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    A perfect rose if "odd", so is an imperfect rose, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc Hormones are hormones, and art is art, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    Hormones are hormones, and art is art, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc I am a breast, 2021 Three framed archival pigment prints
    Ilona Szwarc
    I am a breast, 2021
    Three framed archival pigment prints
  • Ilona Szwarc However many may be looking at me, I am really quite as alone as anyone could ever wish to be, 2021 Seven framed archival pigment prints
    Ilona Szwarc
    However many may be looking at me, I am really quite as alone as anyone could ever wish to be, 2021
    Seven framed archival pigment prints
  • Ilona Szwarc A breast's mind's eye, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    A breast's mind's eye, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc You are a breast, of sorts, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    You are a breast, of sorts, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc If I am a breast I would make milk, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    If I am a breast I would make milk, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc A breast simply hangs and is there, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    A breast simply hangs and is there, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc Color of my nipple is rosy pink, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    Color of my nipple is rosy pink, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc I examine myself yet again under a strong light, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    I examine myself yet again under a strong light, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc I know a perspective from which all that exists appears awesome and mysterious, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    I know a perspective from which all that exists appears awesome and mysterious, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc It began oddly, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    It began oddly, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc Not a rash, not a scab, not a bruise or a sore (#1), 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    Not a rash, not a scab, not a bruise or a sore (#1), 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc Not a rash, not a scab, not a bruise or a sore (#2), 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    Not a rash, not a scab, not a bruise or a sore (#2), 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc The etiquette of being a breast, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    The etiquette of being a breast, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc The sleep that I slept within a nightmare itself, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    The sleep that I slept within a nightmare itself, 2021
    Archival pigment print
  • Ilona Szwarc Women and their apertures, 2021 Archival pigment print
    Ilona Szwarc
    Women and their apertures, 2021
    Archival pigment print
Installation Views
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 10
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 12
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 6 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 3 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 1 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 7 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 9
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 8
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 5 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 4 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 2 Web
  • Ilona Szwarc Virgin Soap Diane Rosenstein Gallery Installation View 11
Press
  • Artillery Interviews Ilona Szwarc

    Julie Schulte, Artillery, October 28, 2021
    This link opens in a new tab.
  • FLAUNT Interviews Ilona Szwarc

    NATE RYNASKI, FLAUNT, October 7, 2021
  • CULTURED Interviews Ilona Szwarc

    Cultured Magazine, September 24, 2021
  • KCRW Reviews Ilona Szwarc

    Lindsay Preston Zappas, KCRW Art Insider, September 22, 2021
News
  • Ilona Szwarc installation acquired by DE LA CRUZ Collection, Miami

    Ilona Szwarc installation acquired by DE LA CRUZ Collection, Miami

    "There Is Always One Direction" opens November 30th Read more
  • Ilona Szwarc in FLAUNT

    Ilona Szwarc in FLAUNT

    Interview Read more
  • Ilona Szwarc in CULTURED

    Ilona Szwarc in CULTURED

    Interview Read more
  • Ilona Szwarc in KCRW Art Insider

    Ilona Szwarc in KCRW Art Insider

    by Lindsay Preston Zappas Read more
  • Ilona Szwarc in COOL HUNTING

    Ilona Szwarc in COOL HUNTING

    "Virgin Soap" Interview by Julie Wolfson Read more

Related artist

  • Ilona Szwarc

    Ilona Szwarc

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