group show | “Sweet Dreams” | LONG STORY SHORT NYC

Press release

Long Story Short is thrilled to present Sweet Dreams, a group exhibition featuring the works of renowned artists Tomona Matsukawa and Mona Broschár. The exhibition will run from October 18, 2024, to November 17, 2024, at 52 Henry St, New York, NY, 10002, offering a captivating exploration of joy, indulgence, and the whimsy found in everyday life.

Sweet Dreams brings together a vibrant collection of bold, surreal interpretations of familiar objects—particularly desserts and fruits—elevating them into fascinating works of art. The exhibition blurs the line between realism and fantasy, transforming everyday items like oversized fruit, whimsical cakes, and colorful flowers into imaginative, playful wonders. Unified by saturated colors and glossy textures, the collection offers a visual experience that is both captivating and luxurious.

Tomona Matsukawa blends photorealism with emotional depth, turning ordinary moments into reflections on modern life, particularly from a woman’s perspective. Through meticulous detail, simple indulgences—such as a bitten donut or figs with chocolate sauce—are transformed into intimate, evocative scenes. Works like "As You Said", depicting a hand resting on pink satin, and "I Still Miss Those Days", showing a flower on a colorful book, evoke personal reflection and playfulness. Rooted in interviews with women, these paintings intertwine stories with daily life, using colloquial titles to engage with societal themes.

Mona Broschár reimagines everyday objects through a surreal, sensual lens where contrasting elements collide. In works like the purple flower in "Made to Fit" and the rainbow cake in "It Ain't Over Until It’s Over", exaggerated shapes and vibrant colors evoke both desire and fantasy. Culinary pieces, such as the glossy red dessert in "Cake of Love" and the quirky sausage with whipped cream and strawberry in "Fearless", blur the line between the delectable and the absurd, highlighting the tension between perfection and decay. The stylized surfaces play with the viewer’s desire for tactile engagement, creating a playful yet provocative exploration of consumption and longing.

Tomona Matsukawa (b. 1987, Aichi, Japan) graduated from Tama Art University in 2011, specializing in oil painting. The work reconstructs fragments of daily life, exploring themes of vulnerability and humanity, and has been exhibited at venues including the Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, Mori Museum Tokyo, and Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art.

Mona Broschár (b. 1985, Bad Säckingen, Germany) is a Leipzig-based painter known for bold, surreal depictions of everyday objects. Studied Fine Art at Camberwell College of Arts in London and holds an MA in Painting and Printmaking from the Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig. Broschár’s work, exhibited internationally, explores themes of consumption, desire, and the tension between reality and fantasy.