Best in Show: Dylan Rose Rheingold

In Best in Show, Dylan Rose Rheingold explores into the realm of girlhood and the narrative of young women at a crossroads, teetering between the formative remnants of childhood and the emergent realities of womanhood. Utilizing a blend of abstract figuration and surrealism, Rheingold paints a world drenched in nostalgia, punctuated with the sharp contours of memories, offering a glimpse into moments of intimacy, awkwardness, and the relentless quest for identity amid the bustling theater of American adolescence.

Rheingold's paintings initially emerge from automatic drawings, wherein she discerns recurring motifs, patterns, and symbology. These drawings subsequently inform the broader strokes of her paintings, though they retain an inherent improvisational ethos. Constantly striving for equilibrium, she resists the urge to over-embellish and celebrates the evolving metamorphosis of her works.

Best in Show draws inspiration from high school color war spectacles, games played at schools and summer camps where students are divided into teams based on colors and involves competitions in everything from dance to sport to theater to gymnastics and tumbling, which is the primary visual inspiration for this body of work. She reincarnates these memories using vivid imagery—figures in bold reds and blues reminiscent of the American flag. Their uniform attire speaks to the pervasive nature of conformity and societal pressures especially prevalent during our teenage years. The immersive ambience of the exhibition, evoking the feel of an auditorium, further accentuates the potent feeling of asserted conformity, pushing viewers towards a state of reticence, hermitude, and introspection. Within this transformative setting, viewers are beckoned to confront personal biases and societal impositions. Depicting young women navigating oppositional color schemes, Rheingold’s paintings question long-held narratives around the teenage years within America.

The works feature vivid portrayal of tumbling bodies on canvas, emblematic of the complex dance of teenage girlhood. These intertwined figures, caught in states of rise, fall, and somersault, encapsulate the strength and interdependence prevalent in young female relationships. Bound by both gravity and shared experiences, their entwined forms become symbolic anchors amidst adolescence's swirling chaos. Yet, upon peering closer, the viewer discerns the nuanced expressions of rivalry, envy, and fragile social hierarchies—evidenced in subtle glares, furrowed brows, and hushed expressions—echoing the tumultuous emotions of this pivotal period.