NOVEMBER 12 - DECEMBER 31, 2025

Exhibition Opening with the Artist
Wednesday, November 12th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

SOCO Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Proposal for a Story, a two-person exhibition of new paintings by artists Holly Keogh and Andrew Leventis. The gallery will host a public opening reception with the artists on Wednesday, November 12th from 5:30 – 7:30 PM. This will be Keogh’s third exhibition with SOCO Gallery and Leventis’ second.

In Proposal for a Story, Keogh and Leventis explore intimacy through paintings of interiors and the slow revelation of detail. Using the common subjects of a still life, both Keogh and Leventis invite viewers into typically private spaces, asking one to identify objects and craft their own narratives. They fill their compositions with meaningful objects — traces of stories that the viewer is invited to finish — while alsoevoking the gesture of what is important to carry with us from the present into the future, whether a case of belongings or  a memory.

American poet Kim Gordon’s 1977 poem "Proposal For A Story” makes what appear to be simple observations: “an empty room, a kitchen table, two chairs…” Their careful consideration of the space reveals a thorough identification of objects and space, and a story begins to unfold in a similar manner to Keogh and Leventis’ paintings.

Keogh’s paintings surround interior spaces not so different from those described by Gordon. In Serene and Secluded, the viewer is placed in an unknown room looking through a window to the outside. Little is revealed about the interior of the space besides large, bustling curtains in a deep pink. The window, slightly ajar, asks the viewer to contemplate the space they have been positioned in while also noticing the subtleties of the exterior that unfolds in front of them. Cutlery (Portobello Road) depicts a briefcase of shining silverware, familiar yet mundane objects. Yet, Keogh utilizes the mirror of the silverware to reveal a story as a woman’s face stares back in the reflection. Is she looking at herself? Taking a picture? Looking for a specific piece of the set? Keogh’s other still lifes are not stylized scenes but observations of the space, painted in a dream-like haze. 

Leventis vividly paints opened suitcases that explore domestic life, memory, and identity. The suitcases carry the intimate objects of someone's life: the clothes they wear, the toothpaste they use, and the books they read. Whereas most of the items can clearly be seen, some are hidden behind a lining, only allowing the observer a peek at the possessions underneath — making them question what the items might be and what significance they might hold for the suitcase’s owner. In Darkened Mirror, Leventis distorts our view of a still life of flowers. One only sees the reflection and must narrate their own perception of the object through a stained mirror in an otherwise bright and clean space.

Not only are Keogh and Leventis’ works connected by theme, but also by their shared artistic backgrounds and upbringings as both artists received their Master of Fine Arts from Goldsmith University in London — Keogh recently in 2025 and Leventis in 2012. Keogh, a former student of Leventis’ at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, currently resides in London while Leventis lives and works in Charlotte, where Keogh is also from. In Proposal for a Story, Keogh and Leventis’ work unites for the first time at a new level. 

Holly Keogh (b. 1991, Charlotte, NC)

Holly Keogh’s work offers rich entry points into abstracted, kaleidoscopic realities containing domestic scenes, lush environments, and overlaid portraits. Using a combination of lucid washes, pressed pigment and realistic renderings she addresses themes of femininity, belonging, desire and Jungian psychology. Keogh moved from North Carolina to London in September 2023 and has recently completed  her MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London’s. In 2014 Keogh graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a double major in Fine Art and Art History. During her undergraduate studies she spent a year in Cape Town, South Africa studying painting at the University of Cape Town. After graduation Keogh became a founding member of the Charlotte based artist collective, Goodyear Arts. In 2019 she was selected to participate in the Pienkow Artist Residency in Chelm, Poland. January through May of 2020 she was an artist in residence at the McColl Center for Art and Innovation. In 2021 Keogh was a finalist of the Bennet Prize Figurative Painting Competition, and was included in their two year exhibition across the US. She has had solo exhibitions at Spring/Break art show in NYC and SOCO Gallery in NC. In 2023 she had a solo show at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina as part of their Constellation Series. Keogh is currently living and working in London, UK.

Andrew Leventis (b. 1980, Charlotte, NC)

Andrew Leventis makes meticulously detailed oil paintings of contemporary vanitas, a motif popularized in early still life in which food, flowers, and other perishable objects represent the fleeting nature of life and the passing of time. Leventis received an MFA in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and an MA in Fine Art from Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts London. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the American Academy of Art, Chicago. He has exhibited internationally at museums and galleries, most recently at the McColl Center, Charlotte, NC, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Krakow, Poland (2024); Novilla, Berlin (2023) the Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, NC (2022); the Venice Arsenale, Italy (2021); and York Art Gallery, UK (2021), amongst others. Leventis is represented by SOCO Gallery. He lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina.