Theodora Allen

Kasmin presents Germ, an exhibition of new works by Los Angeles-based artist Theodora Allen opening in Mexico City.

Through a visual language rooted in emblematic, esoteric, and personal sources, Allen creates ciphers for narratives both eternal and intimate. In Theodora Allen: Germ, the duality inherent to acts of becoming is explored through representations of seedlings, armor, and celestial geometry. Central to each painting is an idea, the “germ,” captured in a phase of transmutation that reflects generative cycles of symbols and nature. The exhibition opens concurrently with Zona Maco, and will inaugurate Casa Siza, a gallery and residence designed by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, whose stylistic approach to ‘poetic modernism’ is activated across two main galleries of the space.

Featuring a suite of large-scale works on linen, alongside intimate compositions, these instances are defined as opposing forces in various states of development—for example, a seedling that grows upward while its roots extend downward. As portraits of potential, suspended in moments of change, Allen’s depictions of illusory forms in ambiguous settings invokes a psychological realm—images that do not follow the rules of our world but perceive a reality that exists beyond its limits. Allen’s rigorous painting process pushes this evocative imagery further toward the ethereal. Numerous thin layers of oil paint are applied and removed until the surface becomes weathered, a push-and-pull that alternates between defining and dissolving the picture plane to reveal a light-emanating ground.

Two core formal strategies distinguish the paintings that comprise Germ. One approach favors soft depictions of dimension, where the volume of an object is described through the subtle modulation of tone. The other relies on the precision of geometric structures and framing devices, creating observation chambers—scenes glimpsed through portals and barriers. The line is used as a contrasting device, operating architecturally to define the boundaries of a composition or as a figurative element that deconstructs the image; a wound to the surface that reminds you it is a painting. Allen’s oeuvre hovers between these two modes of representation. Their restrained manner is neither definite nor changeable, a style that emulates the contradictions of her subjects.

In The Starry Vault (Germination) I, II, III (2023), the scale and proportions of the panels enhance their architectural effect. Picturing the growth process of a germinating seed in a cosmic setting, the sperm-like forms of nascent roots and fledgling leaves are framed by columns ornamented with four-pointed stars. The title of these works recalls an ancient understanding of the universe, one that presumed stars were affixed to the inside of a large sphere. This concept of containment is similarly explored in Constellation (Balance) (2023), a geometric configuration of diamond portals that map the constellation of Libra. The balance scale is a recurring symbol in Allen’s work, a sign of equilibrium amongst often wild and uncontrollable nature, whose opposing forces allow for creation, survival, and evolution.

Across the exhibition, two instances of color break from the artist’s restrained palette—an apple and a heart, both painted in red. In The Apple and the Worm (2023), Allen pulls upon pictorial traditions related to pre-Raphaelite and iconographic painting as well as the still-life genre, proposing a memento mori. Following the alchemical principle “as above, so below,” the earthworm acts as a marker of death and decay, yet its tunneling involves the breaking down of matter necessary for new life and growth. In Breastplate II (2023), the armor is rendered translucent, the ideogram of a heart visible through the shell, while Breastplate I (2023) shows a sharp line that dissects its surface to reveal luminance where paint has been burnished from the image—symbols sliced through or falling away. Throughout Germ, the figure and ground collapse into one another; enigmatic spaces that allude to a symbolic rather than realistic domain. As iconographic ciphers, none of Allen’s depictions assume to represent the real version of themselves. The artist translates symbols from antiquity into a language of icons that endure across time. Just as the term ‘germ’ describes an organism capable of developing into a new one, the artist’s symbols alter our understanding of external signs as a reflection of ourselves—one that remains in a constant state of becoming.

Theodora Allen (b.1985, Los Angeles, CA) holds an MFA in painting from the University of California, Los Angeles, CA, a BFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, and has completed a residency at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME. Recent solo exhibitions include Huset for Kunst & Design, Holstebro, Denmark (2023); Driehaus Museum, Chicago, IL (2022); and the Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark (2021). The artist’s first monograph, Theodora Allen: Saturnine, by Stephanie Cristello was published in 2021 by Motto Books. She is represented by Kasmin, New York, BLUM, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo, and 12.26, Dallas. This exhibition marks the artist’s first solo presentation in Mexico.

Kasmin was founded in New York in 1989 and today represents over forty internationally renowned artists and estates. Placing the work of leading contemporary artists in dialogue with that of historic 20th-century figures, our program reveals throughlines between practices that span multiple generations and disciplines. Kasmin has built a reputation for unwavering support of its artists’ visions, nurturing the careers of eminent contemporary artists and advocating for the enduring relevance of historical work through the representation of their Estates and Foundations. More recently, Kasmin has expanded its range of activities to include the provision of arts education in partnership with local organizations, while encouraging critical discourse through our publishing programs, Kasmin Books and The Kasmin Review. 

— Kasmin

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Wednesday, February 7–Sunday, February 11: 10:00am–6:00pm