Leo Castelli Gallery is pleased to present Unction and Industry, an exhibition of new photographs by Diana Kingsley. In this exhibition, Kingsley expands on major concerns of her work: the well-placed non sequitur, self-consciousness, and slyly humorous formal affectations. Though ostensibly her subject matter features closely-cropped nature shots and table-top still lifes, the real protagonist is the hapless photographer as assiduous arranger and cajoler. The title of the exhibition, Unction and Industry, alludes to a strange dichotomy in the work, whose seamless compositions can be seen as both soothing and domineering. (An alternative meaning for unction, “superficial earnestness,” adds to the rich associations conveyed by the title.) In Afterlife, a monochromatic medley of melons and balloons cluster awkwardly about a diminutive bowl, belying their more artful reflection on the glass table below. In Weltschmerz, a heap of various cheeses balances on a vague yellow expanse, figuring a strange mix of aplomb and resignation. Summer Friends presents a more foreboding arrangement, either orchestrated by the beetles themselves or unseen troublemakers. Tropes of seduction run through these works (money, pollination, chocolate, ripe fruit, mushrooms, flowers, driftwood, a snail), but for all their sensuous subject matter and full-blooded color, they remain tentative and a little doleful, suggesting that what is proffered is not likely a promise of something to come.

Remembered Shame, 2011 20" x 20" lambda print		Remembered Shame, 2011 20" x 20" lambda print
Sneaking Suspicion, 2012 30" x 30" lambda print		Sneaking Suspicion, 2012 30" x 30" lambda print
Afterlife, 2012 20" x 20" lambda print		Afterlife, 2012 20" x 20" lambda print
Weltschmerz, 2011 20" x 20" lambda print		Weltschmerz, 2011 20" x 20" lambda print
Community Plot, 2011 48" x 48" lambda print		Community Plot, 2011 48" x 48" lambda print
Principals and Partners, 2009 40" x 40" lambda print		Principals and Partners, 2009 40" x 40" lambda print
Bohemian, 2011 30" x 30" lambda print		Bohemian, 2011 30" x 30" lambda print
Allowance, 2010 48" x 48" lambda print		Allowance, 2010 48" x 48" lambda print
Summer Friends, 2012 40" x 40" lambda print		Summer Friends, 2012 40" x 40" lambda print
Anecdote of the Duck, 2009 40" x 40" lambda print		Anecdote of the Duck, 2009 30" x 30" lambda print
The Soft Skin, 2012 15" x 15" lambda print		The Soft Skin, 2012 15" x 15" lambda print
Infidel, 2009 30" x 30" lambda print		Infidel, 2009 30" x 30" lambda print