the beauty myth

While we can look at the mummies of ancient Egypt and the Peat Bog Man as fairly straightforward relics of past ages, one has to wonder what upcoming generations will make of the silicone sacs and other remnants of contemporary surgeries that will be intact long after the fragile flesh and bones they augmented have turned to dust. In "Casualties of Beauty," the first solo show to be held at New York's Fake Estates gallery, Sarah Chuldenko (a granddaughter of former president Jimmy Carter) presents a nightmare vision of smokestacks, carnivorous plants, oil slicks, and giant towers of buoyant breasts, piled like the leftovers of future archaeological excavations. The images might not be pretty, but the paintings are a beautiful way to mock our failed bids for eternal youth.



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