EVELYNE AXELL AND ALLISON ZUCKERMAN
POWER SHIFT

KÖNIG GALERIE
7 NOVEMBER – 21 DECEMBER 2024

OPENING
6 NOVEMBER 2024 | 6 – 8 PM

KÖNIG GALERIE is pleased to present POWER SHIFT a dynamic two-person exhibition featuring the works of Evelyne Axell and Allison Zuckerman in the Nave of St. Agnes. Curated by Zuckerman, this exhibition explores how feminist art evolves, and responds to its time while remaining constant in its messaging. Axell and Zuckerman, though separated by decades, both employ art to challenge and redefine the representation of women. Their works resonate with themes of empowerment, society’s fixation on the fleeting nature of beauty, and the performance of womanhood. Together, they create a rich dialogue exploring the struggle for female autonomy and the complexities of female identities and agencies.

Evelyne Axell was a Belgian Pop Art iconoclast whose work fearlessly explored themes of female power, sexuality, and liberation. Known for her vibrant color palette and innovative use of materials, Axell’s art challenges societal expectations and celebrates the strength and boundless potential of women. Her work often features women in control of or merging with machines, suggesting a reclamation of space within a male-dominated culture. This exploration of power, control, and sensuality resonates profoundly within the broader context of feminist art. Axell’s work serves as a defiance against societal expectations for women to be seen and not heard, representing a literal and figurative breaking of silence.

Allison Zuckerman presents early works from 2016 along with paintings and sculptures from 2023. The 2016 paintings are the raw genesis of her distinctive style, where she collides comic book imagery with art historical references. These pieces are marked by their exploration of complex feminine emotions and actions – confrontation, vulnerability, fantasy, and anxiety. They embody a naked emotionality, blending humor and poignancy in a celebration of female strength. Zuckerman’s later works stem from that feministic affirmation of identity. They reflect her ongoing research on materials and the layering of references, where sculptures and paintings translate into dense compositions that evoke the flow of digital information.

The uncanny similarities within both artists' work – whether in color palettes, thematic imagery, or raw emotional intensity – make this pairing feel almost inevitable. Evelyne Axell and Allison Zuckermann painted at the same age, though separated by 50 years. Their works tell a story of womanhood, complete with honest ups and downs, discoveries, and, most of all, passion. The exhibition is a tour through the impulses of one’s psyche – bringing deep-seated hopes, fears, and dreams into the physical realm.