Fantasy Playground

Fantasy Playground is an introspective look at male adolescence as it pertains to our contemporary American landscape, where the insidious workings of the normative archetype of masculinity operates through the hollow promise of some superior ideal. Looking at shooter manifestos, chat forums like puahate and 4-chan, Gladstone explores a psyche riddled with impossible expectations. In two parts—the dark room (a video and installation), and the light room (paintings and sculpture)—the socially constructed imagination of what life should look like and the negative effects of its failures are considered. In the dark room, a nightmarish video of a journey through the forest plays on loop, while the paintings and sculpture in the light room take on more literal representations of fantasy and pleasure, shame and unease. Through a childish, playful mindset and aesthetic, Gladstone creates a world of objects that not only reflects the lonely and psychologically-disturbed character of certain individuals but also contemplates the collateral damage of some idealization of normative desire.

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Press Release

The Creator's Project: DTLA Warehouse Venue Evolves into Art Gallery by Charlie Schmidlin — Apr 4 2016

AQNB: Growing Pains — Apr 1 2016

Autre Magazine: A Visit to Sebastian Gladstone's Studio Ahead of his Solo Show — Mar 28 2016