Spielzeug Gallery's 'MAR-A-LAGO FACE' Explores MAGA Plastic Surgery Aesthetics

On May 13, 2026, the Spielzeug gallery opened its pop-up show 'MAR-A-LAGO FACE' in a former restaurant space on Allen Street in New York, drawing a line of attendees before the doors opened. Founded in 2025 by Evan Karas in his Bushwick apartment, Spielzeug (German for 'toy') has quickly gained a reputation for energetic programming. Karas, 25, and associate director Eleanor Hicks, 23, curated the exhibition to critique what they call 'neo-Rococo MAGA crash out aesthetics,' specifically targeting the plastic-surgery look popular among Republicans like Matt Gaetz, Laura Loomer, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kristi Noem. The show features works by queer, trans, and Latin American artists, including Berlin-based trans artist Ivana Vladislava, whose self-portraits address her botched plastic surgery during transition. Hicks noted that Vladislava's body became 'a site of pride and a lifelong performance.' Karas described the right-wing plastic-surgery aesthetics and queer body modification as 'the kissing edges of a horseshoe,' with one side using body modification to break norms and the other to maintain the status quo. The opening blurred exhibition and party, with a bouncer, an intern stamping wrists, a DJ, and a themed cocktail called 'Botched.'