ALL THAT GLITTERS

Suburban culture is an assemblage of cookie-cutter houses and everyone dressing the same. My family is very middle class, so growing up felt domestic and extra ordinary. As I got older, I started to crave more than what the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina have to offer.

Chasing all that glitters in magazines such as Vogue, Glamour, and InStyle became my escape. I would rip through each one every month, page by page ranking the numerous purses, shoes, and blouses I wanted most. Eventually, I stashed a heart-shaped box under my bed, stuffed it with extra cash, and labelled it “Louboutin Fund.”

Fashion magazines made me want to appear more interesting and important than I thought I was. It took me a while to realize how toxic these thoughts are and how insidious the programming is to worship luxury lifestyles.

My work investigates the relationship between popular culture and repetition. How do patterns shape media? Why do luxury goods create expectations of grandeur in daily life?

When I went to college, everything I desired as a teenager began to feel simulated. The oversaturation of luxury clothing and accessories on the market dispelled my thirst for them. Like my younger self, the scenes I paint are trying to overindulge in a fantasy, but there is a lingering sense of emptiness amongst the glamour.

Over the course of this exhibition, I will live-install glittered objects and branded wallpaper in the gallery to create an immersive experience of my still-lifes. These paintings simultaneously critique and admire designers such as Gucci, Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and Missoni. I am a participant in the system that I am critiquing.

Rachael Tarravechia (b. 1995, United States) received a B.F.A. in painting from The Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia in the spring of 2018. She has exhibited her work in Georgia, New York, and Hong Kong. Her work investigates the relationship between popular culture and repetition in the luxury market. Rachael lives and works  in New York City.