Glass Subjects: Curated by Charlap Hyman & Herrero

Spanning 300 years and featuring more than 20 works of decorative and fine art from diverse locations—Brazil, France, Italy, Sweden, and the U.S.—Glass Subjects serves as an homage to the French artist Serge Roche and his 1930s gallery of mirrors and mirrored objects on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris.

Roche—a historian, collector, and dealer of rare and important mirrors—authored two canonical books on the subject, and his exhibitions and mirrored rooms reflected the period’s burgeoning preoccupation with Versailles, Surrealism, and the human psyche, themes echoed throughout this exhibition.

Glass Subjects examines the enduring fascination with reflective surfaces and their role in art and design, drawing inspiration from Roche’s work, the concept of reflection, and its inherent psychological associations. “We found ‘Glass Subjects’ to be interesting terminology in that it intentionally twists the ‘object’ and the ‘subject,’ a phenomenon that mirrors are similarly capable of recreating. We are presenting mirrors, fine art, and decorative art as the subjects of the exhibition—but when it comes to the mirror, the individual looking in is actually the subject.” – Adam Charlap Hyman.

If I ask if all be right

From mirror after mirror,

No vanity’s displayed:

I’m looking for the face I had

Before the world was made.

—William Butler Yeats (1933)

Glass Subjects extends beyond traditional mirrors to encompass pieces crafted from glass, steel, and various other media. The exhibition features a unique stainless steel chaise by artist Nicola L from 1989, acquired directly from the artist, a 1968 stainless steel coffee table by Maria Pergay, a 1930s glass and coral sculpture by Misia Sert, and a circa 1700 baroque Memento Mori Tabernacle attributed to Andrea Fantoni. While not all mirrored objects, the contemporary selection is presented as an integral part of the historical continuum, engaging with the spatial and psychological qualities of reflection, a curatorial approach that mirrors Roche’s own gallery practice of showcasing contemporary pieces alongside antiques. Together, the assembled works offer an incisive exploration into how artists across centuries have utilized the unique properties of reflection to externalize internal states and probe the complexities of human perception and identity.

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Fabrics courtesy of Kvadrat. 

Wall color generously provided by Alkemis Paint.