Gretchen Scherer: In Time — Gretchen Scherer

Monya Rowe Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new paintings by Gretchen Scherer titled In Time. The opening reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, October 29, 6-8 PM.

To understand the present and the future, Scherer looks to the past. The artist says: "Looking back feels stable. When it’s over you understand it."

Scherer's new suite of paintings continues to examine memory, absence, longing, collecting, place and the passing of time. The paintings are reimagined depictions of museums, palaces, castles or private collections once owned by philanthropic historical figures. The locations are identifiable, but the paintings prioritize artistic license over photorealism. Some of the works blend combined elements of museums, palaces and imagination. Deciding which place to depict is a combination of personal, historical and intellectual interest. This exhibition focuses on locations across England, Poland, France, and Italy.

In An Orangery with Paintings (2026), a historic estate in England, William Holman Hunt's The Awakening Conscience (1853) is placed in the immediate foreground, signifying symbolic significance. Hunt’s painting depicts the unraveling of an affair and a woman's sudden realization of her compromised life and desire for freedom. This rebellious spirit is an undercurrent throughout the exhibition. Scherer's An Orangery with Paintings (2026) is inspired in part by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Movement and William Morris. Both rebelled against the rigid, formulaic academic tradition of their time. Morris, an anti-industrialist and non-academic, leaned towards Decorative Arts and encouraged handmade objects. Scherer explores how art movements can trigger transformation yet remain powerless to stop the tide of history.

In this exhibition, Scherer invites greater emotional engagement. The masterworks double as people rather than just a stagnant object. In A French Cafe with Paintings (2026) paintings by Klimt and Schiele, members of another rebellious art movement known as The Vienna Secession, are placed at tables making them look like real cafe participants.

Many of Scherer's compositions are slightly askew suggesting a tumultuous undercurrent teeming with life and energy. An exception is A Sepulcher Chamber with Paintings, Rome (2026), which stands out as the most intentionally symmetrical composition in the exhibition. Here, Scherer utilizes uniformity and symmetry to function as a metaphor for stability and calmness. The National Gallery at Night (2026) also strives for a peaceful, calm and reflective environment.

Scherer feels a deep personal connection to these carefully chosen objects and places, despite (possibly) never having visited them. The artist spent countless hours researching and selecting specific paintings from each collection, examining works and locations that connect to her own life while conveying universal themes. Ultimately, these new narratives anchor themselves in the past to speak to the present. Scherer's reimagined scenes and inventive juxtapositions create a world of wonder for the eye to marvel in.

Gretchen Scherer (b. 1979, Indianapolis, IN) received a MFA from Hunter College, NY and a BFA from The University of Illinois at Chicago, IL. Scherer has been awarded residencies at Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting, ME and Vermont Studio Center, VT. Recent exhibitions include Richard Heller Gallery, LA, CA; Patricia Low Gallery, Gstaad, Switzerland; Gowen Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland; Taymour Grahne, London, U.K.; Robilant + Voena, New York, NY/Milan, Italy; and Monya Rowe Gallery, NY. Scherer’s work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar ART Latin America Special Issue, New York Magazine, Hyperallergic, Artnet, The Paris Review, Harper's, The New York Times, and Forever Magazine (upcoming), among others. Scherer’s work was profiled in the Spring 2024 issue of Juxtapoz magazine (“Gretchen Scherer: If Rooms Could Talk”). Her work is included in “New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting” by Robert Zeller, published by Monacelli Press (2024), an imprint of Phaidon. The artist lives and works in West Creek, NJ and Brooklyn, NY.