Long Story Short is proud to current Virtues & Vices, a solo exhibition by Scottish artist Lily Macrae at 52 Henry St, New York, NY. On view by way of April 27, 2025, Macrae’s work captures the push and pull of human nature—the strain between indulgence and restraint, pleasure and remorse, intimacy and distance. Her work really feel like fragments of a narrative, moments caught simply earlier than one thing shifts, earlier than the laughter fades or a secret is revealed.
Drawing inspiration from Baroque artwork, movie stills, and fleeting reminiscences, Macrae’s work exists in an area between previous and current, dream and actuality. Her figures seem and dissolve inside layers of oil paint, virtually as if they may slip away in case you look too lengthy. With a method that includes making use of after which wiping away paint, she creates a way of motion—a fleeting contact, a lingering look, the hazy blur of a half-remembered evening. Some works radiate heat and celebration; others maintain a quiet unease, hinting at what lingers simply beneath the floor.
Macrae’s method presents a uncommon mixture of technical mastery and emotional depth. Her work usually are not simply objects of magnificence however psychological landscapes, capturing each the ecstasy and unease of existence. Every brushstroke holds pressure and launch, creating works that demand to be seen, felt, and interpreted. Her large-scale items, like Melody and Now We’re Even, pull you in, immersing you in a cinematic world that feels each acquainted and mysterious. Extra intimate works, equivalent to A Devilish Grin and Scream, distill emotion into singular, magnetic moments. Whether or not it is the glow of candlelight on pores and skin or the charged stillness earlier than a confession, Macrae’s work makes you’re feeling such as you’ve stepped right into a scene—one crammed with unanswered questions and tales ready to unfold. On the core of Macrae’s observe is a fascination with the complexities of human connection—our needs, our contradictions, the methods we maintain on and let go.
