Color Theater - Neutrals

Color Theater - White

Curator Statement

This exhibition marks the inaugural presentation in a series dedicated to exploring the nuanced impact of individual colors in art. Focusing on neutral tones, we delve into their role as a canvas for balance, subtlety, and as a foundation for other colors to harmonize. Neutrals have long been central to minimalism, where their understated elegance strips away excess to reveal the essence of form and space. Through a diverse range of artistic interpretations, this show uncovers how neutral colors transcend traditional boundaries to evoke both calmness and depth, inviting viewers to engage with their understated complexities and reflective qualities. Each subsequent exhibit in this series will continue to unravel the unique significance of different colors, expanding our understanding of their influence in art and beyond.

By:Karolina Karlsson

Figurate artists

Loy Luo

Loy Luo is a New York-based artist and gallerist with a master’s degree from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. She has also taught art at the Beijing Institute of Science and Technology Management.
As the proprietor of Loy Luo Space, Luo created the Color Theatre Collection, an innovative series of art exhibits hosted at her prime Tribeca gallery. Every 10 days, the gallery transforms with a new color theme, offering a vibrant and immersive experience for visitors. Each exhibit is meticulously curated, showcasing works from accomplished artists who explore the depth and versatility of the chosen color. This rotating series not only highlights the beauty of each color but also demonstrates the unique interpretations and creativity of the participating artists.
Luo’s artistic focus spans painting, sculpting, concept and performance art, poetry, vocal performance, and writing. Her work has been exhibited and collected in countries including China, Italy, France, the United States, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, and Australia.

Karolina Karlsson

Karolina Karlsson (b. 1995) is a self-taught Swedish artist based between New York and St. Barth’s. Neutrals marks the debut of her curatorial career and the inaugural exhibition of the Color Theatre Collection series, which explores the nuanced impact of individual colors in art.
Focusing on neutral tones, this exhibit delves into their role as a canvas for balance, subtlety, and harmony. Neutrals, central to minimalism, strip away excess to reveal the essence of form and space. Through diverse artistic interpretations, the show uncovers how these colors evoke calmness and depth, inviting viewers to engage with their understated complexities. Each subsequent exhibit in the series will continue to explore the unique significance of different colors in art.
Karlsson has exhibited at Spectrum/Red Dot Art Fair during Miami Art Week, Maison Pelican in St. Barths, and her Manhattan studio. Her work draws inspiration from the human form, food, and minimalist patterns, using monochromatic colors to create aesthetically pleasing, playful yet modest designs.

Debbie Taylor Kerman

Debbie Taylor Kerman is a Scottish artist who moved to NYC in 1991 as a textile designer. Captivated by the city, she settled in Harlem with her husband, Elliott, where they raised their two sons. During the pandemic, Debbie transitioned from a successful three-decade-long commercial art career to pursue fine art full-time. Her work, now in private collections across the U.S. and internationally, explores the beauty of diversity and connection in a divided world.
Influenced by Egon Schiele and Mark Rothko, Debbie merges figurative and abstract art, using layers of paint and collage to create dynamic compositions. She balances what is revealed and what is left unsaid, inviting viewers to look beyond the surface to discover deeper stories within her work. Debbie’s art emphasizes that our differences are what make us beautiful, encouraging a deeper understanding of the “whole picture.”

Lucas Bononi

Lucas Bononi (b. 1991. Los Angeles) is a contemporary painter living and working in New York, NY. His paintings reflect nature through the lens of the modern world. With nuance, color and light. Bononi investigates monotonous city life while expressing nature's unrepeatable beauty. His work asks us to simultaneously question relationships between figuration and abstraction, beauty and chaos.

Hadassi

British-born photographer Hadassi (b. 1995) presents Vertigo, a series inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and reminiscent of Yves Klein’s Leap into the Void. Drawing on her deep appreciation for the pictorialist movement and mid-20th- century photography, Hadassi merges traditional film techniques with modern approaches to create ethereal images that challenge conventional narratives.
In Vertigo, Hadassi portrays women, reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, falling from the sky amidst modern skyscrapers. This series explores the tension between the old and new, feminine and masculine, as the women navigate their descent—some with fear, others with awe. Through these images, Hadassi invites viewers to question the moment of the fall, symbolizing the empowerment found in embracing the unknown.
Hadassi is a self-taught commercial photographer who worked with NYC photographer David Montgomery. She is drawn to maternal characters in her work and is inspired by 20th-century NYC street and fashion photography. Her work infuses romantic melancholy and femininity, capturing timeless, transcendental moments. Early influences, including iconic photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron and David Montgomery, shaped her love for black-and-white film and darkroom prints.

Gareb Shamus

Gareb Shamus is an American contemporary painter. His paintings are noted for breaking the ‘3rd wall’ with their three-dimensional textures and use of a proprietary painting technique designed and developed to provoke conversation by reaching out to the viewer
Gareb’s positivity and optimism for life are evident in his paintings through his use of colors and designs. Each drop is deliberate, yet collectively they form a very organic structure
Gareb sees no boundaries between his art, business, and personal life, and feels everything is culturally connected. His success as the founder of Comic Con and publisher of Wizard magazine transformed the Superhero genre worldwide. This global phenomenon taught him to trust his instincts and to forge ahead where others may be intimidated.
Gareb’s artwork appears in galleries, homes, and hotels worldwide. He has recently showed at the LA Art Fair, SCOPE and Context during Miami Art Basel.

Alicia Hobbs

Alicia Hobbs is a Los Angeles based artist whose work focuses primarily on the relationship between light and color.
She captures this mainly through portraits dressed in her own unique fashion pieces, which she aims to match at her shows. Unexpected color palettes, juicy textures, and tiny inner monologue quotes scattered throughout give her pieces a playful and childlike flair.
Originally from Mississippi, Alicia moved to Los Angeles in 2020 where she opened her Beverly Hills based gallery, Alicia Hobbs Fine Art. She now travels the country as a full time artist showing her work, alongside her pup Ritzy Roodles.

Anastasia Butacova

Anastasia Butacova (born November 4, 1995) is a figurative artist with a keen eye for breaking boundaries and unlocking the spirit, her work is a testament to the boundless beauty found within.
Through vibrant hues and bold brushstrokes, Anastasia crafts narratives that transcend the limitations of language, inviting viewers into a world where emotions flow freely and stories unfurl with each stroke of the brush. Each painting is a vibrant tapestry of energy and vitality, reflecting the profound life force that courses through every aspect of existence.

Eve B.

Eve B. is an independent Australian sculptural artist based in Manhattan, New York, known for her intricate dimensional pieces.
With a background in performance and production, she seeks to bring joy as a catalyst through all of her art.
Her journey began out of a desire to create art for herself and she fell in love with the process of producing dynamic and uplifting textured works. Eve aims to bring people right into the present moment with curiosity and wonder. Consumed by the process of becoming, her art is driven by exploration and growth.

Carolina Donoso

Carolina Donoso, a Brazilian American artist based in New York City, explores the intricacies of the human experience through her drawings, paintings, murals, and more. Her nomadic life across Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, and the United States has fueled her quest to understand what unites us in our differences.
A 2021 graduate of Emerson College and an alumna of RISD and Parsons programs, Carolina blends her diverse studies—from business to design and social innovation —into an artistic journey that honors what makes us human.
Through art that shares her personal story while provoking introspection, Carolina invites her audience to engage in the rebellion of authenticity. Her mission is a celebration of individuality, embracing intentional imperfections and encouraging self-expression.

Haifang Luo

Haifang Luo is a Chinese artist who resides in New York. She Graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of Inner Mongolia University of Art. Her artistic exploration includes three types of works with mixed media, experimental art of digital painting, and Thangka of Miantang style.
“The Lost Memories” is a series of work I began in 2015 and have continuously worked on to today. By borrowing images from both private and public domains, I aim to depict fragments that are continually lost in the passage of time. These images are projections of fleeting human emotions, akin to dreams or fleeting thoughts. They exist at specific moments, lacking contextual frameworks, much like humanity's fragmented memories, exuding a sense of unease and reflecting the fragility and beauty of human emotions.
In exploring the loose connections between images, memory, and reality, I seek to understand their multiple interrelations. Images "falsify" memory to recreate reality, while memory "falsifies" reality to reconstruct it. Through the interaction of images and memory, reality is presented in a way that is both familiar and strange, creating a unique perceptual experience.

John Mazlish

John Mazlish’s artistic passion reveals the unique beauty in simple moments and places, a sensitivity to color, shape, mood, and light inherited from his talented mother.
Starting as a musician, John eventually transitioned to photography, finding an intuitive connection between the two art forms. His career began by photographing NYC musicians and expanded to diverse portraiture and events, always striving for freshness, spontaneity, and risk.
In recent years, John’s focus has shifted to fine art photography, exploring light, water, beauty, and seasonal changes, with a growing passion for fine art nudes. His love for beauty also led to the creation of MazlishGallery.com.
John’s work is ideal for large-size printing, especially on dye sublimated aluminum, which enhances the richness and depth of the images. The goal is to bring peace, color, and beauty to living and working spaces, and he is excited to share his photography with others.