Sara Cwynar's 'Rose Gold' exhibition explores color politics through film and photography

Sara Cwynar's solo exhibition 'Rose Gold' at Foxy Production in New York from 7 April to 14 May 2017 featured an eight-minute film examining the cultural significance of rose-gold. The color, named one of Pantone's 2016 Colors of the Year as 'Rose Quartz', appears on products from iPhones to men's sneakers. Cwynar's film connects rose-gold to phenomena like 1970s melamine crockery and swipe technology while questioning its reputation as universally flattering through vintage makeup ads. The exhibition included digitally manipulated photos titled 'Tracy' referencing 'China Girls' from film leaders and grammar book fragments. Two final series addressed masculinity: medieval armor collaged with handheld objects and 'Avon Presidential Bust' photographs of gold-painted aftershave bottle bases from 1976. The film incorporates quotes from Lauren Berlant, Toni Morrison, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and references Trump hotels and gender fluidity in fourth-wave feminism. Acne Studios debuted a pink shopping bag in 2007, while New York magazine's The Cut blog discussed 'Millennial Pink'. The 'Rachel' makeup shade was created in the late nineteenth century for Jewish French actress Rachel Félix. Cwynar's work contrasts rose-gold with earlier 'flesh tones' on catwalks and Barbara Kruger's 1981 photomontage.