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Vian Borchert
Ariadne’s Crest, Horizons, and the Poetics of Abstraction
Vian Borchert’s work occupies a rare space where abstraction, memory, and myth converge. Across continents and exhibition contexts, her paintings function as visual thresholds—portals between the personal and the archetypal, the earthly and the celestial. On MUSE.TV, we spotlight Borchert’s current and upcoming exhibitions, beginning with her newest body of work debuting in New York City.
ARIADNE’S CREST: Ad Astra | To the Stars
Lichtundfire Gallery, New York City
Borchert’s latest abstract paintings are currently on view in ARIADNE’S CREST: Ad Astra | To the Stars, the invitational 10-year anniversary exhibition at Lichtundfire Gallery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Conceptualized and curated by Priska Juschka, the exhibition brings together artists whose practices engage myth, time, and transcendence.
Drawing from the Greek myth of Ariadne and Dionysus, Borchert’s paintings revisit the legendary meeting place on the island of Naxos—where abandonment transforms into cosmic devotion. According to myth, Dionysus immortalized Ariadne by casting her jeweled crown into the sky, forming the constellation Corona Borealis. Borchert reinterprets this narrative through abstraction, merging personal memory with cultural mythology.
Her compositions reference the iconic Portara—the monumental gateway of the unfinished Temple of Apollo—rendered through layered blues, aquas, and gestural marks that suggest sea, sky, ruin, and passage. These works do not illustrate myth; they activate it, allowing ancient narrative to surface through contemporary painterly language.
Exhibition Details
Dates: December 5, 2025 – January 3, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wednesday–Saturday, 12–6 PM
Location: Lichtundfire Gallery, 175 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002
Availability: All works are available through the gallery
Works on View
Threshold (2025)
Acrylic on canvas, 20 × 20 in
Portara (2025)
Acrylic on canvas, 20 × 20 in
Gateway to Sea (2025)
Acrylic on canvas, 20 × 20 in
Columns of the Temple of Apollo (2025)
Acrylic on canvas, 20 × 20 in
Art Excerpt
“When a new idea arrives, I often begin with painting — it’s how I first externalize a feeling or visual logic. Painting becomes a way of thinking through form, and during the development of a body of work, it grows alongside the film. I think of it almost like set design or scenography in dialogue with narrative: a conversation between pigment and memory, between material and moving image.”
Elly Cho