Towards the end of what had been a nearly-perfect day, filled with sunny weather, gallery hopping and parties of every sort, Geoffrey and I continued our revelry with a later-than-usual pit stop at one of our very favorite art spots, Last Rites Gallery, which was hosting an opening bash for their current exhibit by Toronto-based artist Sarah Joncas. While I was not familiar with Sarah’s body of work prior to attending the opening on Saturday night, I was blown away by the talent of this beautiful and highly prolific 24 year old painter. Entitled Lilith, the series of oil on canvas portraiture on view at Last Rites might strike some as a gothic/horror take on traditional Romance Novel cover Heroines, and that’s certainly a suitable point of departure. But Sarah’s work, I think, goes a bit deeper. Sarah explains a bit about the show and her inspiration behind the new series below.

“Given the opportunity to go darker with this show, I chose to go full force in celebrating the original femme fatale, Lilith – not necessarily as a direct allegorical reference, but more so for what she represents. According to Jewish Mythology, Lilith is considered to be the true 1st wife of Adam, though her unwillingness to submit caused her to rebel from Eden in search of her own dark path. As such, she’s been written as the temptress, the mysterious and the devil. Taking from fairytale and folklore inspirations, much of my work for this show borders on the fantastical, indulging and sometimes turning other mythological females into similar demoniac beings. Though working with a relatively more aggressive theme than usual, I’ve kept the melancholic and pensive tone that my work is most well known for.”

Geoffrey and I got to meet Sarah at the party and she was super cool and signed cards for us. She is obviously a gifted artist with a long and exciting career ahead of her. Check out the show while you can!

Sarah Joncas’ Lilith Runs through June 5, 2011 at Last Rites Gallery, Located at 511 West 33rd Street, 3rd Floor (West of 11th Ave) in NYC. Gallery Hours are Tues-Sat 2-9 PM and Sun 2-6 PM.