On view from February 6 through April 27, "From Sam Francis to Matta: Elegance in the Flames of Gehenna" presents an extraordinary journey that bridges the beautiful and the grotesque, offering a powerful exploration of artistic expression where elegance converges with intensity.
This transportive exhibition explores imperfection and decay, offering an otherworldly meditation on the duality of existence. Inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poetry and the mythological Gehenna—a valley of fire and judgment—this exhibition reorients the gallery space as a space for personal and societal catharsis. Within this conceptual framework, we probe our relationship with beauty by showcasing unflinching works of art that brush up against traditional aesthetic boundaries.

"From Sam Francis to Matta: Elegance in the Flames of Gehenna" seeks to provoke, inspire, and transform. It is a celebration of the human spirit’s resilience and its capacity to find grace in adversity. As viewers navigate this powerful collection, they are invited to reflect on the cycles of destruction and rebirth that shape both art and life. As Baudelaire poignantly writes in To the Reader:

"In repugnant things we discover charms;
Every day we descend a step further toward Hell,
Without horror, through gloom that stinks."

These words capture the essence of the exhibition—in the indelicate, the challenging, there is a beauty more real than that which is seen in smoothly rendered, facile paintings. The works of artists like Vilhelm Hammershøi, Martin Kippenberger, and Elaine de Kooning deepen our relationship with beauty by honestly contextualizing how precious beauty feels at times. In the flawed and the decaying world around, there is beauty, just as Baudelaire says, and we have gathered together artists whose works suggest that this hard-won beauty is the greatest of all.

Featured artists include:
Sam Francis, Martin Kippenberger, Roberto Matta, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Lorenzo Viani, Elaine de Kooning, Gopal Ghose, Thornton Dial, Jo Spence, Keunmin Lee, Marisol, Heinz Mack, Joan Collette, George Condo, Paul Jenkins, Ejler Bille, Henry Moore and James McNeill Whistler, Richard Hambleton.