Christina Mariotti - The Conformist 1 (2026)

36x36 acrylic and water pastel on gallery stretched canvas

Domestic Duties is an exhibition about the performance of care. Across three bodies of work, angels, devils, and conformists, the show asks one question: When service becomes ritual, who holds the ritual? The Angels wear halos and balance impossible towers of dishes, bowls, and expectations. Their hair is swirled to perfection. They choose grace, but grace has weight. And weight, eventually, has physics.  The Devils wear horns and pearls. They make the martini, pour the drink, and go to sleep on the job. She made it. She’s holding it. She’s pouring it. Just not for you. In this series, compliance comes with a footnote. The footnote says no. The Conformists don’t wear horns or halos. They wear the grid. Face neutral, palette faded, they have merged with the shelves. Every cup has its saucer. Every duty has its place. This is what happens when you meet every expectation: you become one. Rendered in aqua pastels and acrylic on canvas and cradled wood, these works use the language of domestic space... bowls, bottles, martini glasses, vases... to talk about labor, identity, and choice. The figures are composed, but the compositions are not neutral. Each piece is a negotiation between duty and self.