A Shape Called Lily

Press Release

Nicelle Beauchene Gallery is pleased to present A Shape Called Lily, a project-space exhibition with Silas Borsos and his first with the gallery.

In this suite of nine oil on panel paintings, Borsos renders intimate domestic portraits of his partner Lily Akerman, turning everyday moments into poetic musings. In each delicate, small-scale painting, Borsos quiets and slows the passage of time to capture Akerman in various twisting postures. Choreographed yet fluid, the still, decluttered compositions remove the reticent veil of the mundane to reveal the mystery, excitement, and love embedded within, and often occluded by the everyday.

In these works, Akerman’s body becomes a foil to (de)construct and warp three dimensional space. In Knot (2022), the outstretched forearm and fingers of Akerman’s left side offer a spatial compass against otherwise featureless planes of muted browns, beiges, and grays. Even these broad swaths of color, however, are formed with soft brushstrokes, and a closer look often reveals a much rougher, deeper plane than may initially meet the eye. In Drifting (2023) for example, a dark background offers both stark contrast to the blues and beiges of the foreground, but also an ever-sinking depth as blacks and browns play off each each other to read interchangeably as both near and far.

Throughout his practice, Borsos uses spatial experimentation and an intuitive sensibility for his subject matter to unravel the wellspring of poetic inspiration ingrained in everyday moments.

Silas Borsos (b. 1989, Toronto, Canada) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture in 2020, and studied Philosophy and Theology at Concordia University. In 2021, Borsos was the subject of a two-artist exhibition with Beaux Mendes at Steven Harvey Fine Arts Projects, New York. Recent group exhibitions include ALL SMALL and Still Life and the Poetry of Place at Pamela Salisbury Gallery, Hudson.