NEW YORK, NY.- On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, Venus Over Manhattan is pleased to announce that the gallery will open a second New York City location at 55 Great Jones Street between Lafayette Street and the Bowery, beside the historic carriage house that was formerly owned by Andy Warhol and housed the studio of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Venus’ new 4,000 square foot downtown space will complement the gallery’s Upper East Side townhouse location at 120 East 65th Street, and will be inaugurated on April 8th, 2022 with an exhibition of new work by Ana Benaroya.

Titled Swept Away, Benaroya’s solo presentation comprises seven monumental paintings, alongside related works on paper, that depict substantial women whose extravagant musculatures gleefully upset traditional expectations of dainty femininity. Benaroya’s work has achieved critical admiration for its construction of a fresh female gaze that recasts women in dominant roles and endows them with an assertive, idiosyncratic and frankly sexual presence. Referencing art historical and contemporary sources, the artist explores the dynamics of queer desire, in which bodies are on display for themselves and on their own terms. In compositions animated by complex networks of attraction, Benaroya makes visible forms of lesbian desire that are typically rendered latent or invisible.

In addition to expanding its physical presence in Manhattan, Venus also will celebrate its first decade with the launch of Venus Digital, a division of the gallery focused on commissioning and exhibiting digital art and NFTs. The first project of Venus Digital will be a solo exhibition Snowfro (Erick Calderon) in June 2022.