FAZE

LaMontagne Gallery is pleased to present _FAZE_, a group exhibition curated by Bianca Fields, featuring work by Celeste Diaz Falzone, Hannah Rust, Xyl Lasersohn, and Bianca Fields. Bringing together four Northeast-based artists, the exhibition considers how "the cute" circulates as an aesthetic category in contemporary art and visual culture. Inspired by literary and feminist scholar Sianne Ngai's theory of cuteness, _FAZE_ highlights figurative works that evoke "baby-schema" features—large, deep-set eyes, rounded faces, and soft or elastic proportions. These familiar qualities encourage intimacy and affection, shaping how viewers approach, interpret, and emotionally respond to art. Unlike the sublime, which relies upon distance and awe, the cute invites closeness through an appearance of softness, vulnerability, and innocence. Yet this apparent passivity is not without power. Through varied approaches to contemporary figuration, the artists in _FAZE_ explore cuteness as more than a decorative or sentimental quality, challenging conventional distinctions between softness and strength, vulnerability and authority, and attraction and control. Together, their works reveal cuteness as an unstable and compelling force—one that draws the viewer closer while quietly determining the terms of the encounter.