NY Studio Gallery is pleased to present This Ain’t No Shangri-La: new paintings by Rachel Stokoe. Using abstract language and painterly mark-making to hint at meaningful imagery, Stokoe revives what she refers to as “the monsters that lurk in the collective unconscious.” Reflecting the artist’s personal history of cultural symbiosis, Stokoe’s work captures the dialogue between the internal and external forces inherent in identity formation.

Within Stokoe’s playfully intuitive paintings, meaning and directive often change depending on the personal histories and associations of the viewer. Vaguely figurative shapes and forms may appear menacing, impish or comical – or they may not appear at all. Using a bold palette with experimental compositional techniques, Stokoe’s mid- to large scale paintings convey raw energy and a sense of searching.

Stokoe believes the collective monsters she conjures in her work are perhaps the true heroes of the human story: they are notions, barely formed, but they can twist our environment into strange knots. We look in the shadows to see them more clearly, not to wish them away, but to understand them. Especially now, when the world has fallen prey to monsters outside ourselves, we are all engaged in the task of making sense of our surroundings.

About Rachel Stokoe Rachel Stokoe was born in India and partially raised in Saudi Arabia before moving to America as a teenager. Her work has been displayed in institutions and galleries since 2003, including the Joyce Soho and the German House at the UN, and her Artist’s Portfolio was published by Penthouse’s Forum magazine. A 2009 graduate of the Hunter MFA program, she also had a summer residency at the School of Visual Arts in 2004. She is the recipient of the Tony Smith fund (2009) and the Thomas Woods Award (2006). 2010 NYSG Reality Gallery Solo Exhibit recipient.