Art Focus: Classical Aesthetics in a Post-Ironic Era

Slip House, the brand new gallery opened at the base of a 19th-century, three-story former carriage house at 246 East 5th Street.

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EAST VILLAGE—Every two decades is a response to the previous two. After decades of irony, the purposeful ugliness of the 80s and 90s (“Anything that’s beautiful is suspect.” Jenny Holzer. “I never had a message. My message was the beauty of the blank.” Richard Prince), the art world may be ready to accept beauty again. A newly opened gallery in the East Village that epitomizes a return to classical aesthetics...

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A newly opened gallery in the East Village that epitomizes a return to classical aesthetics is Slip House. Founded by Ingrid Lundgren and Marissa Dembkoski, launched during New York Art Week with a mission steeped in the ethos of Coenties Slip—a 20th-century downtown artist enclave that included Agnes Martin, Ellsworth Kelly, and James Rosenquist. Their newly opened space aims to challenge the traditional gallery model by fostering a domestic, historically-rooted atmosphere for contemporary work. The inaugural exhibition, As if a line, reflects that vision through an interplay of modernist, metaphysical, and figurative works across three floors.

Slip House once belonged to artist and designer Charles Kritsky, who lived and worked there through the ’80s and ’90s. His mosaic still marks the façade—a holdover from a time when the building served as an informal salon for artists and neighbors. That communal energy carries into the space’s first exhibition, a multigenerational presentation co-curated by former Sprüth Magers director Jessica Draper. The show pairs historical works by Jack Whitten and Claude Viallat with new pieces by Anne Hayden Stevens, Lizzy Gabay, Max Guy, Nour Malas, Katharina Schilling, Oda Iselin Sønderland, Jill Tate, Noelia Towers, and others.

More International Artists Creating Classically Beautiful Works

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and now based in Munich, Aliya Abs crafts paintings that evoke a sense of nostalgia and introspection. Her figures, often faceless, inhabit vintage or historical settings, allowing viewers to project their own emotions onto the scenes. Abs’s compositions blend acrylics, oil pastels, and occasionally collage elements, resulting in works that are both intimate and universally resonant. Her pieces, such as “Revelling In Memories”, capture fleeting moments with a delicate balance of melancholy and warmth.

A young talent from Seversk, Siberia, Victoria Glinkina infuses her paintings with a sense of spontaneity and freshness. Her works often depict everyday scenes—interiors, still lifes, and figures—rendered with subtle tonal shifts and a soft palette. Glinkina’s art captures the ephemeral nature of youth and memory, inviting viewers into a world where light and color harmonize to evoke emotion.

Italian artist Luca Giovagnoli, hailing from Rimini, brings a poetic realism to his paintings. His works often feature solitary figures or intimate scenes, rendered with a muted color palette and textured surfaces. Giovagnoli’s technique involves layering acrylics with natural materials like sand and earth, creating a tactile depth that enhances the emotional resonance of his subjects. His art reflects a contemplative exploration of human experience, bridging the gap between past and present.