Rashaad Newsome's 2015 Exhibition Critiqued for Heavy-Handed Critique of Materialism

Rashaad Newsome's exhibition in March 2015 presented collages that deliberately engage with ostentatious materialism, drawing inspiration from medieval heraldry and cathedral architecture filtered through contemporary hip-hop aesthetics. The works feature frames that often overshadow the collages themselves, customized with elements like fake fur, leather, gold, and three-dimensional plastic Calla lilies to parody traditional Old Master frames. Specific pieces include Rapture (2013) with flying cherubs on its frame, Turn Up (2013) covered in leather and gold, Hey Papi (2011) with garish green filigree and fake fur, and Wild Magnolia (2013) decorated with artificial foliage. The collages incorporate diamond imagery from magazines arranged in repeating grids, sometimes centered on headless female figures reminiscent of music video tropes, as seen in Saints and Centers 2 (2014) with lips surrounded by diamond necklaces. A video work, ICON (2014), depicts queer and transgender individuals voguing in a simulated computer environment, which was criticized for potentially exploiting the ballroom community without adding new discourse. The exhibition was noted for its extreme presentation that some found repulsive, raising questions about whether Newsome critiques or celebrates capital's gendered power structures and consumerism. It was held in midtown New York, with the review originally published in the March 2015 issue of ArtReview.