Contributed by Aaron Michael Skolnick / Ana Benaroya’s solo exhibition “Eternal Flame” at The FLAG Art Foundation is a joyously absurd exploration of the female body and masculinity. As a child of the ‘90’s making my way from room to room bouncing between fields of color and exotic scenarios, I can’t help but think about the burlesque quality of American Gladiators and the World Wrestling Federation’s images of women. But Benaroya is also serious about sexual politics.
The cultural explosion of ultra-bulk bodybuilding and professional wrestling, with their psychedelically sexualized attire, had Middle America questioning its views on gender whether it was aware of it or not. Men now had permission to celebrate other men in makeup sporting tiny speedos and did so. Women, for their part, could build muscles and be seen more or less as men could, and implicitly could challenge them while remaining all woman.
Benaroya cheerfully breaks down the gaze, exposing non-binary strains in insistently male-driven social constructs. Upstairs are pastel-colored walls, each room a different color. The first work is The Great Reveal – a mirrored image of two women confronting the audience, one glaring and the other smirking, as if to taunt. While the skin of bodybuilders and wrestlers invariably reflects a deep tan, Benaroya renders them blue, red, and orange, leaning into the subject’s comic-book vibe. At the same time, there is an air of coolness in her figures that makes you want their approval and friendship.
A deeper theme is the social obsession with controlling women and camouflaged male desires. Tonight You Belong to Me, one of the strongest works in the show, depicts a figure reclining in grass with a crescent moon above her. The muddy sky brings an uncomfortable harshness to the piece. She seems to be challenging us to join her, knowing that she will ultimately have her way. In turn, Art is Largely a Matter of Form depicts a figure sitting on a miniature column, arms up behind her head flexing her biceps as an artist starts her portrait. It’s the artist who’s smiling.
“Ana Benaroya: Eternal Flame,” The FLAG Art Foundation, 545 West 25th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY. Through January 17, 2026.
About the author: Aaron Michael Skolnick is a New York-based artist.
