Inside P·P·O·W's Lana Del Rey-Inspired Group Show

Works that explore the desire, nostalgia and delusion at the heart of pop music.

Exhibitions
0 Comments

Wherever you land on the love-hate spectrum of pop music, its melodic pull is hard to resist. Despite its critical reputation of being performative, overly sincere and, at times, all too much, it’s a genre that’s always lived on a knife’s edge — one that thrives not in spite of its many contradictions, but because of them.

At P·P·O·W Gallery‘s latest group show, Hope is a dangerous thing pulls back the shiny curtain of pop curtain and revels in its darker, more introspective underbelly. Inspired by the closing track of Lana Del Rey‘s 2019 studio album Norman F*cking Rockwell, the exhibition draws inspiration from the album as an elegiac portrait of millennial youth, late-stage capitalism and the strange calm that sometimes follows despair.

Curated by Eden Deering, the show assembles a fantasy band, composed of Kyle Dunn, Raque Ford, Paul Kopkau, Diane Severin Nguyen, Kayode Ojo, Marianna Simnett and Robin F. Williams — an “artist Spice Girls” of sorts, each channelling their own pop persona. Together, the works on view wrestle with the often conflicting tensions and dualities that shape our understanding of the cryptic yet ever-present figure that is the modern pop star.

Channelling early 2000’s optimism and digitally-wrought melancholy in equal measure, a shared reverence for camp, authenticity and the courage of self-reinvention pulse through the space. Williams’ glow-in-the-dark “Siri Serving” captures an unreachable vocalist mid-serenade, suspended somewhere between presence and illusion. In Dunn’s “Happiness is a butterfly,” which figures Del Rey’s album in its foreground, tells the story of a glass star whose longing to be beautiful is sobered by the stark, unglamorous reality encasing it.

Beyond pop music itself, several works tap into a broader sense of cultural nostalgia: for “In the Ocean, In Da Club, and In my Dreams,” Ford inscribes a failed Rihanna-Beyoncé fan fiction across luminous sculptural forms, while Ojo’s standout sculptures explore the seduction of fast fashion and disposability — all that glitters is not gold.

Hope is a dangerous thing embraces the contradictions at pop’s heart: the delusion that beauty, or the illusion of such, can save us, and the hope that maybe, just maybe, it still might. As Deering described, the show walks “the line between faith, hope and dream. There’s a resilience to just keep going and there’s something so beautiful about it.”

The exhibition is now on view through July 11.

P·P·O·W Gallery
392 Broadway,
New York, NY 10013

Read Full Article

What to Read Next

At Sky High Farm's New Biennial Show, Artists Rally Around Food Justice
Exhibitions

At Sky High Farm's New Biennial Show, Artists Rally Around Food Justice

Featuring a roster of 50 international artists, including Anne Imhof, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Lauren Halsey and Nan Goldin.

FUTURA Returns to Chicago for a 'Family Affair' at Anthony Gallery
Exhibitions

FUTURA Returns to Chicago for a 'Family Affair' at Anthony Gallery

Honoring the 50th anniversary of his mother’s passing.

Antony Gormley and Tadao Ando Team Up for Meditative Sculpture Cave
Artworks

Antony Gormley and Tadao Ando Team Up for Meditative Sculpture Cave

Now on view as a part of Gormley’s ‘Drawing on Space’ at Museum SAN.

Overcrowded Louvre Launches €270 Million Design Competition

Overcrowded Louvre Launches €270 Million Design Competition

The winner will lead designs for a new entrance and a standalone “Mona Lisa” gallery.

Beauty Bleeds Through Jenny Saville's 'Anatomy of Painting'
Exhibitions

Beauty Bleeds Through Jenny Saville's 'Anatomy of Painting'

Now on view at London’s National Portrait Gallery through September 7.


Hypebeast Visits: Tequila Don Julio Unveils a Sensory Tasting Experience at Mercer Labs
Sales

Hypebeast Visits: Tequila Don Julio Unveils a Sensory Tasting Experience at Mercer Labs

Presented by Tequila Don Julio
Celebrating the passion, spirit and heritage of Don Julio.

Mohamed Bourouissa and the Invisible Powers That Make Us
Exhibitions

Mohamed Bourouissa and the Invisible Powers That Make Us

His latest exhibition, ‘Communauté,’ is now on view at Fondazione MAST.

Jeff Koons' 37-Foot 'Split-Rocker' to Blossom at LACMA
Artworks

Jeff Koons' 37-Foot 'Split-Rocker' to Blossom at LACMA

Opening outside the new David Geffen Galleries in 2026.

Dominique Fung Evokes Subliminal Romance  in New Print
Artworks

Dominique Fung Evokes Subliminal Romance in New Print

Produced in collaboration with Avant Arte.

Mowalola Expands the Mowaverse With THE SKATEROOM Collab

Mowalola Expands the Mowaverse With THE SKATEROOM Collab

Firing up five dual-minded skate decks.

More ▾
 
We got you covered. Don’t miss out on the latest news by signing up for our newsletters.

Looks like you’re using an ad-blocker

We charge advertisers instead of our readers. Support us by whitelisting our site.

Whitelist Us

How to Whitelist Us

screenshot
  1. Click the AdBlock icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Under “Pause on this site” click “Always”.
  3. Refresh the page or click the button below to continue.
screenshot
  1. Click the AdBlock Plus icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Block ads on – This website” switch off the toggle to turn it from blue to gray.
  3. Refresh the page or click the button below to continue.
screenshot
  1. Click the AdBlocker Ultimate icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Switch off the toggle to turn it from “Enabled on this site” to “Disabled on this site”.
  3. Refresh the page or click the button below to continue.
screenshot
  1. Click the Ghostery icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Click on the “Ad-Blocking” button at the bottom. It will turn gray and the text above will go from “ON” to “OFF”.
  3. Refresh the page or click the button below to continue.
screenshot
  1. Click the UBlock Origin icon in the browser extension area in the upper right-hand corner.
  2. Click on the large blue power icon at the top.
  3. When it turns gray, click the refresh icon that has appeared next to it or click the button below to continue.
screenshot
  1. Click the icon of the ad-blocker extension installed on your browser.You’ll usually find this icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. You may have more than one ad-blocker installed.
  2. Follow the instructions for disabling the ad blocker on the site you’re viewing.You may have to select a menu option or click a button.
  3. Refresh the page or click the button below to continue.