Marriage Cross, 2016, Archival pigment print on Hahnemuhle paper, 66 x 52 inches, Edition 2/3 + 2AP

Icons by Adria de Haume is the artist’s first solo show with Mark Borghi Fine Art. Featuring work from the late 1980s to today, de Haume uses the image of the cross in her sculpture, works on paper, panels and archival pigment prints.

Meaning and symbol are tested in Adria de Haume’s iconography that combines art, pop culture and celebrity, referencing Damien Hirst, Madonna and Andy Warhol’s 1962 Marilyn Diptych, with a higher sense of purpose. Through the repetitive use of a cross as the foundation for these sculptures, the artist poses questions and combines pithy humor with moments of reflection or spirituality. De Haume’s earliest work in the show X Cross from 1986, a gestural and expressive work on paper, roots the artist in the cross signage she has continued to use throughout her career. The archival pigment prints are the artist proof editions of prints featuring the original cross sculptures through photography and mixed media application of materials ranging from acrylic, oil and oil stick on top of the surface.

There is a message of Hope running throughout the artist’s work, stemming from the cross’s first purpose for the artist, which was used to aid a friend in need. The choice of the cross, a weight bearing symbol throughout western civilization, becomes a vessel of thought, semiotic play and even an expanded metaphor for contemplation and meditation beyond the Christian cannon. Each is made with a specific point of reference, as detailed in the artist’s publication Cross Purpose, 2015.

The reception will take place Thursday, June 28th, 6-8 pm, 52 E. 76^th Street, New York, NY 10021. Cross Purpose is available for purchase at the gallery. The artist is available for book signings upon request. For additional information please contact the gallery (212) 439-6425, katherine@borghi.org. Gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 am to 5 pm.

ICONS by Adria de Haume