Press Release

Mrs. is pleased to participate in Esther II, presenting works by gallery artists Rose Nestler and Alexandra Barth. Though distinct in material and tone, both artists engage with themes of transformation, domestic space, and the tension between concealment and exposure. Nestler and Barth each work within highly personal, symbolic visual languages that invite the viewer to consider the structures—physical, emotional, and cultural—that shape our lives.

Over the past year and a half, Rose Nestler has been developing a body of bulky wood and fabric sculptures that often contain miniature rooms and intimate scenes—shifts in scale that allow her to explore themes of vulnerability, loss, shame, repair, and reverie. These tiny, endearing elements offer a sense of safety within larger, interlocking structures that resemble boxes, homes, or containers. In Body Mirror, a freestanding full-length mirror becomes a sculptural tableau of theatrical and domestic imagery: curtains, a gray business suit with a vivid pussy bow, a leatherette bag, and a house-shaped void converge in a surreal composition that blurs the line between interior and exterior space. The reverse side features mirrored spill shapes that transform the logic of reflection, while the piece’s ballerina legs and scattered fried egg motifs—drawn from the baby toys and domestic objects that have recently filled Nestler’s home as a new mother—lend humor and tenderness. Balancing playfulness with psychological depth, Body Mirror touches on fertility, fragility, and the layered physical and emotional transformations of motherhood.

In contrast, Alexandra Barth’s airbrushed paintings use the motif of drapery as a vehicle for formal exploration and metaphorical depth. Defined by fold, fabric, and light, drapery has long offered artists a space of abstract freedom within representational traditions. Barth centers the fold as a structural and expressive element, rendering fabric with such precision and emphasis that it begins to resemble carved stone. The folds—creased, layered, and suggestive—evoke the tension between control and chaos, concealment and revelation, their sensual contours echoing the human body. Her curtains draw on the geometric restraint of medieval art while also referencing the domestic curtain’s symbolic weight: once signifiers of class and taste, they also mark the boundary between public and private, indulgence and modesty, openness and withdrawal. Barth’s paintings elevate the curtain beyond ornament or backdrop, transforming it into a surface of psychological and historical complexity.

Together, Nestler and Barth reflect a shared commitment to materials and metaphors that complicate the domestic realm. At Esther II, their works create a layered conversation between sculpture and painting, intimacy and distance, interior space and public display—offering visitors a compelling look into how formal invention can serve as a lens for personal and cultural transformation.

Alexandra Barth (Slovakia, b. 1989) received her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2013. She has held solo exhibitions at Photoport and Hotdock Project Space, Bratislava, Slovakia; Loom, Milan; A SUD, Pescara, Italy; Stone Projects, Prague, Czech Republic; Chris Sharp, Los Angeles, CA; and Mrs., Maspeth, NY. Recent group exhibitions include presentations at Medium and DKP, Bratislava; MiArt, Milan, Italy; Document, Chicago, IL; Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA; The Salon by NADA; Carole Lambert Presente, Paris, France and Huxley-Parlour, London. Her solo presentation at The Armory Show, New York, NY, in 2024 won the TCP Art Finance Prize. She will have a solo exhibition at Document, Lisbon, Portugal, in May 2025. She has been represented by Mrs. since 2025. The artist currently lives and works in Sanguinetto, Italy.

Rose Nestler (b. 1983, Spokane, WA) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and BA in Art History from Mount Holyoke College. Nestler has exhibited in the United States and internationally, including exhibitions at Public Gallery, London, UK; König Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Pangée, Montreal, QC, Canada; BRIC, Brooklyn, NY; Hesse Flatow and Perrotin, New York, NY. She was an artist in residence at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans in 2022. Nestler has also conducted residencies at The Fores Project, London, UK, and The Lighthouse Works, Fishers Island, NY, among others. Her work has been featured in the Brooklyn Rail, BOMB magazine, Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper, Artnet, New York Magazine, and Art21. The artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery was held in Spring of 2022 and has been represented by Mrs. since 2023.

For additional information, please contact hello@mrsgallery.com.