Royale Projects is pleased to announce And the stars look very different today featuring Lynn Aldrich, Annie Briard, Shauna La, Kim Manfredi, Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, Ed Moses, Ladan Sedighi, and Michael Todd opening March 15, 2025.
Taking its title from the lyrics of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” (1969), this exhibition empathizes with Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who vanishes into the void after losing contact with ground control.
We find ourselves in a time of transformation, floating in the most peculiar way. Fires reshape our city. A shift in leadership alters the rhythm. Reverberations from the past few years still hum beneath it all. But within disruption, there’s space to rebuild, reimagine, and realign our sense of place and reason.
As the world shifts so does the gallery, exploring influential expressions while welcoming fresh perspectives. Like the stars, constant yet ever-changing, our creative landscape is both familiar and renewed.
The ultra-matte black surfaces of Shauna La’s Noir paintings absorb nearly all visible light, creating an otherworldly depth that examines themes of identity, loss, and the fragile connection between mind and body. Similarly, Ed Moses’ Untitled (EM155) reminds of the transience of our existence with a texture reminiscent of barren cracked earth or a painting in the advanced stages of deterioration, suggesting both decay and resilience. Like the last embers of a smoldering fire, a haze of deep black drifts across a glowing field of red and yellow, in Michael Todd’s Around Midnight.
Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins' Green Tower uses a precise two-point perspective drawing the viewer into a space that feels both expansive and intimate, where reality feels suspended. Like a labyrinth, Lynn Aldrich’s large scale installation Aqueduct invites quiet reflection. Alluding to water scarcity, the work creates a poignant statement on absence and necessity.
Annie Briard’s Horizon RGB light box draws a parallel between the artificial and natural, its transitional gradients showcase an ever changing environment. Underscoring the impermanence of any given moment, the shifting colors in Ladan Sedighi’s Kiss of Light alter the viewer’s perception based on their perspective. Kim Manfredi’s the return offers reassurance. Golden rays emerge symbolizing light’s inevitable return after darkness.
As we navigate a world in flux, Major Tom’s final words of affirmation “tell my wife I love her very much she knows” becomes a powerful reminder that even in the unknown, connection and purpose persist.