Latitude Gallery is pleased to announce Oh for Goodness snake!, an exhibition featuring Miami-based painters Susan Kim Alvarez and Cici McMonigle, on view from January 24 to February 24, 2025. Curated by Heike Dempsterand timed to coincide with the Lunar New Year celebrating the Year of the Snake, the exhibition explores transformation, renewal, and interconnectedness, reflecting the rich symbolism of the snake in the Chinese zodiac.

Alvarez and McMonigle, close friends since high school, draw on their shared history and artistic connection to create works that balance humor, emotional depth, and the uncanny. Informed by fables, family stories, and personal experiences, their paintings transport viewers into a fantastical world where reality merges with imagination.

The exhibition invites audiences into a vibrant universe populated by anthropomorphic figures and whimsical creatures—ranging from lions and dogs to snakes and cowboys. Alvarez and McMonigle explore intuition and movement in their painterly practices, weaving traditions with renewal and blending folklore with the interplay of the old and new.

Cultural and personal histories underpin the artists’ works. Alvarez’s Cuban, Vietnamese, and Jewish heritage informs her vivid landscapes, where figures and miniature scenes intertwine with humor and introspection. Influenced by traditions like the Lunar New Year Lion Dance, her paintings fuse mythologies and memories into layered compositions. Meanwhile, McMonigle’s half-Chinese, half-American background inspires her fantastical creatures. Growing up in South Florida, where Asians are underrepresented, she channels her multicultural experiences into surreal yet relatable characters, inviting viewers into imaginative storytelling.

Oh for Goodness Snake! celebrates the Lunar New Year and Chinese heritage with creativity, friendship, and collaboration. Set in Manhattan's historic Chinatown, the exhibition offers an immersive space filled with movement, storytelling, and tradition—embracing fantasy, music, and even slithering across the dancefloor.