Spielzeug gallery, founded in 2025 in Bushwick by Evan Karas and Eleanor Hicks, opened a pop-up show titled MAR-A-LAGO FACE on May 13 at a former restaurant on Allen Street in New York. The exhibition critiques the plastic-surgery aesthetics associated with Republican figures like Matt Gaetz, Laura Loomer, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kristi Noem, featuring works by queer, trans, and Latin American artists. The opening blurred the line between exhibition and party, with a DJ, themed drinks, and a bouncer checking bags.
The show matters because it directly confronts the far-right's use of cosmetic surgery as a tool of gender essentialism, contrasting it with queer and trans body modification as a form of self-expression and pride. By framing these aesthetics as two ends of a horseshoe rather than opposites, the curators challenge viewers to reconsider the politics of appearance and performance in contemporary culture. The gallery's rapid rise and serious programming signal a new energy in the New York art scene, engaging with political and social issues through irreverent, immersive exhibitions.