The ‘morning bathers’ in Celeste Rapone’s painting in her solo show at Marianne Boesky Gallery are nothing like the idealized figures suggested by the title. While a gargantuan bird dominates a bird-bath, a female figure struggles into wakefulness by turning the garden hose on her slumped, semi-clad body. Inside, a discarded pair of underwear on the floor accents the orange-tones of goldfish in a flower vase, a quote from Henri Matisse’s tranquil still lives. Despite the order and attempted cheer of the bright-yellow living room interior, Rapone’s main character has some reckoning to do…when she comes around. (On view in Chelsea through Oct 18th).
