The epoch of Rococo conjures images of opulence and gaiety that could only be achieved by a ruling class who had seemingly lost touch with reality. The perfect vision of hindsight has taught us that such frivolity, subsidized by the nobility’s indiscriminate spending, would ultimately spell the end of such romantic pursuits by inspiring revolution. Yet, it is a style we see increasingly emulated literally and figuratively in contemporary culture; a postmodern pastiche of commerce driven taste that leaves the mind full of questions and the soul athirst. In a time such as this, where the world is at once quite large and impossibly small, we are helpless but to be enchanted by the wonders that lay at our fingertips. Through handheld mirrors we are reflected, these ubiquitous and essential screens force feed our desires right back into us.

The once indisputable influence of a favored few, with their ample means and expanses of time, has given way to fast acting injections of gratification through the advancement of technology. While information spreads like wildfire, there grows a yearning to apply creature comforts as a salve for the exhaustion of accumulating knowledge. Enlightenment once again brings its necessary change in perspectives through codified messages, and it is between the pages of this folio that one may find inspiration flowing forth, challenging antiquated notions ripe for the taking.

Ponder how Anne von Freyburg reworks Rococo imagery through her painterly textiles; relying on embellishments, stitching, and color to challenge Modernist ideals regarding taste, femininity, and fine art. Her contemporary tapestries highlighting skills and materials once relegated to women’s work, turning the notion of frivolity on its head. While von Freyburg dyes and stitches her vision of femininity into textiles, Ebony Russell pipes princess dreams into deceptively hearty delicacies born of porcelain and fire. A thorn here, a razor’s edge there, the artist’s sculptures belie their pastel veneer, begging the viewer to look closely, to consider the depth of a woman’s wisdom, and what secrets lie within these romantic surfaces. It is here that Russell deftly presents us with much to chew on while we delve below the crust. Consider Julie Wolfe’s artistic world, shaped by a multitude of sources, each with their own appeal and significance. Hand drawn wigs obscure spectres of ladies in varying interpretations of period dress, bringing an otherworldliness to monochrome depictions of well mannered femininity. A blood red Rorschach print looms and tromp l'oeil reproductions of celestial bodies evoke weightlessness. This same sense of ghostly glamour is inescapable in the fashion photography of Nathalie Agussol. Interweaved amongst the textile paintings, the porcelain vessels, the found images, a gilded mouth evokes the interior decoration of Versailles and stratospheric hair serves as an exaggerated nod to the plumage and wigs worn by all at court. All while a menagerie of Marc Jacobs garments reference Vivienne Westwood referencing historical costumes. By turning her lens to today’s luxuries, Agussol has brought past eccentricities into the present and shed light on how form can serve a function. In this case, the freedom of expression through styling and the ready- made art of fashion tells a story of substance.

This pithy tale is deeply considered; each work by the artists mentioned above, as well as Vesna Vrdoljak, Isabelle Menin, Sayaka Maruyama, Isabel Reitemeyer, Delphine de Luppé, Barbara Mancini, Lauren Kalman is carefully curated, not only for aesthetic appeal or association with the theme of Rococo, but for the role they play amongst the others. Agussol (PAN) and Wolfe delved deeply into the exercise of pacing, pairing, and positioning this trove of curiosities in service to the whole. Of course, every one of these pages holds their own rich meaning but together, and especially as they are partially concealed by folding, one finds an even more enchanting conversation awaits. The found imagery and their relationships to each other become at once half of themselves and something else entirely when bound together in this way. A physical and metaphysical meeting in the middle that tumbles back and forth, teasing a universe of appreciation if one simply turns the pages and wishes to see.

Behold! Herein lies a solid state collection of confections, spun of paint and paper and pixels and porcelain, dear viewer. If you would only spare a moment to digest, reflect upon these pages and yourself, it might illicit desire... or better yet, envy. The Bronx-born writer Don Delillo once wrote, “Decorative gestures add romance to a life...” and while he may not have had Marie Antoinette and her merry fellows in mind during the writing of White Noise, the novel in which this phrase appears, his words distill the driving motivation of mid-18th century French aristocracy into a gratifying sip. This compulsive pursuit of pleasure, tactile and oh so sensuous, is a luxury. The artists who contributed to this publication have reimagined that sentiment, harnessing their messages with adept and thoughtful skill. Rather than fill languid hours with amusements, these enlightened individuals focus their gaze on matters that carry weight while speaking through the styles of a bygone era.