Templon New York presents Elizabethan Collar, David Smalling’s first exhibition with the gallery. In paintings on wood panel inspired by Old Master traditions, Smalling examines social codes, aspiration, and constraint within elite spaces. Domestic settings and symbolic objects—tables, instruments, pearls, and snails—suggest tensions around gender, status, and belonging. The title references the “cone of shame,” a metaphor for access that offers prestige while quietly restricting autonomy.
