Shadow Talk

Opening on April 30, 2025, “Shadow Talk” by Dylan Rose Rheingold marks the artist’s second solo exhibition at T293 and features her largest body of work to date: three monumental mural-sized paintings that push the boundaries of scale and intimacy. Alongside these, a selection of automatic drawings on paper, which Rheingold regards as studies in the ongoing evolution of her practice.
Rooted in a blend of domestic interiors and dreamlike landscapes, this new series explores the interplay of space, memory, and nostalgia. The artist merges the realms of surrealism and abstraction, allowing her to weave together the mundanity and the fleeting nature of memory in a manner that is both intimately eerie and strangely familiar. Themes and imagery central to her practice include symbols of otherness, femininity, and her heterogeneous cultural background. By employing unconventional compositions - through the use of automatic drawing and surrealist automatism, as well as her distinctive layering of mixed media – she transforms these elements into nostalgic, half-remembered dreams. Rheingold’s work is drawn to the idea of everyday emotions and banal spaces that, when seen through her surrealist style, are amplified and transformed into subconscious worlds that are both unknowable and universally familiar. By exaggerating the vulnerable and unglamorous details - and often veiled truths - of the feminine experience, the artist highlights a critical moment in a young woman’s life: the realization of the inherent responsibility she must absorb to carry the gaze of others.
The concept behind “Shadow Talk” emerged from a consideration of performance: spotlights, light sources, and moments of physical exposure that often define a coming-of-age platform. In this context, the shadow symbolizes outdated versions of ourselves and others who no longer actively inhabit our lives. Much like the objects that hold familial significance - those with a presence in a space despite their physical absence - the shadow embodies a sense of "otherness" through aura or energy. From a formal perspective, these elements are often painted over, with fleeting traces subtly peeking through the brushwork, as if whispering an overhead secret that requires time and engagement to truly uncover, like pressing your ear against a door to listen for fragments of a hidden truth.