Juxtapoz Magazine – Marcelle Reinecke: Cherries in the Snow …

Monya Rowe Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new paintings by Marcelle Reinecke titled Cherries in the Snow. The opening reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, January 8, 6-8 PM

For this exhibition, Reinecke presents variations of leisure activities in an imaginary wooded landscape and cozy warm interiors infused with sentimentality. Reinecke highlights common outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming and fishing to simple domestic pleasures such as applying nail polish to a loved ones toes upon a green shag carpet in front of a blazing fire (Cherries in the Snow, 2025). The interiors often allude to another era, maybe the 70’s or 80’s, or an amalgamation of inspired, sometimes imaginative, imagery that encourages the viewer to create their own narrative. The artist draws from vintage or nostalgic objects from American history and culture. Some of the many areas of interest are illustrations of everyday life (think Norman Rockwell), advertising, such as 1960’s Field and Stream or 1980’s LL Bean catalogs, Folk Art and pop-culture.

However, works throughout the exhibition also thoughtfully, and subtly, reference European Art History. Reinecke’s Coppertone Sunset (2025) hints at the well-known painting, The Valpinçon Bather (1808), by Jean- Auguste-Dominique Ingres while the title references the iconic Coppertone ads of the 1960’s. Exploring the relationship between high and low culture permeates throughout Reinecke’s work. Without pretention, Reinecke acknowledges that pulp illustrations are just as visually important as art in the historical cannon. Reinecke highlights the egalitarian influence of visual gratification and commonplace ubiquity of images by irrelevantly including paintings of other artists, such as N.C. Wyeth and Corot, within her carefully curated, yet humble, interiors.

To complement these themes, Reinecke’s work is also characterized by an emotional appeal and an interconnecting personal narrative. The exhibition depicts moments of respite and self-reflection through a solitary hiker or a seemingly ordinary segment of a domestic day. Evoking innocence and harmony with nature and self, Reinecke elevates the mundane to the extraordinary, while celebrating queer intimacy in a romantic Arcadian parallel universe.