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Through a range of diverse collaborative relationships with artists and curators, Subtitled NYC presents interdisciplinary practices through exhibitions.
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MISE EN ABYME

10.03 – 11.09.2025

Johnny Draper and Richard McDonough

Since August, Brooklyn-based artists Johnny Draper and Richard McDonough have been developing a site-specific installation at Subtitled NYC. Their collaborative installation, Mise en abyme, is an architectural intervention nested within the gallery’s interior.
Mise en abyme is a French term appearing in art, literature, and film, referring to a structure in which a work contains another work within itself. Literally, it can be translated as “placed into the abyss,” but conceptually, it denotes a technique where a work reflects or reproduces itself in a reduced or repeated form.For example, a painting containing another painting, a story unfolding within a story, or a film featuring a film.

Sculpted tiles clad the surfaces, skylights filter shifting fields of color, and a tape loop traces the edges of the room with faint sound. The exhibition bridges the gap between their studio-based practices and ephemeral nightlife architectures, creating a liminal environment that transports visitors away from the street below into a space of curiosity and careful perception.

Johnny Draper is a Brooklyn-based visual artist whose practice centers on drawing, and explores themes of design and architecture.

Richard McDonough is a Brooklyn-based artist whose practice is rooted in painting, and has grown to encompass sculpture, installation, and lighting.

In 2023, the artists launched their collaboration - Color Theory, a party series that merges their shared interests in spatial transformation, ornamentation, and light. They debuted the series at Pageant, reimagining the venue for Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and the Pageant Gala. Their work has since expanded to include projects for ONOS at The Slipper Room and, most recently, an immersive lighting experience for Inner Smile, an upstate festival. Color Theory creates environments where the worlds of visual art, dance performance, and electronic music can intersect. The installation at Subtitled takes a step in the direction of the permanent exhibition, while keeping these other universes in mind.