Philadelphia-born and based Karen Kilimnik conjoins components while constructing her own universe. There is no contiguity in Kilimnik’s encounter with old masters: her fictitious fantasy jumps the narrative and makes us believe you can be in any existence of your own choosing. The gold statue, Columbus Circle, winter, snowstorm in N.Y., guy wiggins channels American impressionist Guy Carlton Wiggins’ ideal of New York: a snow-covered Columbus Circle. Revealing Kilimnik’s ingenuity and witty interaction, it is her fictitious fantasy of this pastiche that culminates in her own reality of the Christopher Columbus statue. While appropriating Wiggins, Kilimnik’s title adds another layer to this magical snow world rather than paying abject homage to her precursor. The marble statue is replaced by a gilded rendition, making it a focal viewpoint like an inconspicuous beacon rather than an effigy for the Italian colonizer. In Kilimnik’s world, shiny gold controls the statue dedicated to the iconic explorer of the Americas.

The circle named after the monument of Christopher Columbus erected in 1892, was designed as part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for Central Park, commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the explorer’s landing in the Americas. While Wiggins staged his composition carefully around the monument, in Kilimnik’s narrative, the circle resembles a carousel. Happy colors with dapper brushstrokes present a true American impressionist: the snow blanketing the canvas in opacity and light, Kilimnik’s chromatic vibrancy and wit outshines Wiggins exemplar.