Alex Israel adds a fresh perspective to mark the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 26, 2024


Alex Israel adds a fresh perspective to mark the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death
Alex Israel, Self Portrait (After André Villers, Portrait of Picasso with Gary Cooper's hat and gun, 1959 © Adagp, Paris), 2023. Acrylic on sintra, 243.8 x 213.4 x 10.2 cm. 96 x 84 x 4 in. Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech. Photo: Nicolas Brasseur.



PARIS.- “LA Californie” Alex Israel’s fifth solo exhibition at Almine Rech, Paris, adds a fresh perspective to worldwide celebrations, conversations and exhibitions marking the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death. In Picasso, Israel has found an ideal subject for his on-going explorations into intersections of fine art and Pop culture. Israel has previously evoked Picasso’s “light drawings” (made famous by Life magazine in 1949) in an augmented-reality self-portrait produced with Snapchat that allows viewers to watch as he traces his own iconic profile around himself with a glowing fingertip [1]. In this exhibition, Israel turns his attention to another aspect of Picasso’s legacy: La Californie .

At the height of his career, between 1955–1961, Picasso lived and worked at La Californie, a Belle Epoque villa on the French Riviera that he famously transformed into a salon-cum-gesamtkunstwerk filled with his own ceramics, paintings, prints and sculptures. Picasso, in turn, painted this elaborate mise-en-scene as a new form of self-portraiture. Referencing these intimate works, Israel offers a glimpse of his own L.A. studio—paint cans, easels, in- progress artworks and all—in Self-Portrait (Warner Bros. ), 2023. In a series of smaller paintings, Israel replaces the traditional subjects of Picasso’s still-life compositions L( e Journal, fruit and liquor bottles) with California staples includingThe Los Angeles Times , Malibu rum, sheet music of Stevie Nicks’s “Dreams,” and an avocado.

Another work on view references Picasso’s glamorous social life atLa Californie. If the villa’s name alone evokes an aura of Hollywood glamour, La Californie ’s location—perched above the seaside city of Cannes—brought Picasso actual proximity to the movie stars who flocked to Cannes each year for the eponymous film festival. Illustrating Picasso’s connection to celebrity culture, Israel’s Self Portrait (After André Villers’ 'Portrait of Picasso with Gary Cooper's hat and gun’, 1959 © Adagp, Paris, 2023 ) depicts Picasso wearing classic French stripes and sporting Gary Cooper’s cowboy hat and gun. The painting, which is based on photos taken at La Californie in 1959 by André Villiers, encapsulates Picasso’s own icon status and links him directly to Hollywood royalty. Israel, whose studio is located on the Warner Bros. backlot in Los Angeles and has long incorporated movie props into his practice, uses this image of Picasso to historicize the model of an artist who performs as a celebrity. Meanwhile, life-size painted aluminum cut-outs featuring the likenesses of Israel, Almine Rech and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso suggest a connection between pop culture and the art market. These freestanding sculptures were inspired by cardboard and paper decoupages Picasso made in the 1950s–1960s and also evoke cheaply-made celebrity standees found in front of a movie theater or memorabilia store. Using the visual language of advertising to depict the gallery owners (who also happen to be Picasso’s heirs) and himself (notably wearing a souvenir Picasso T-shirt), Israel underscores the commercial connection between art and celebrity.

With this exhibition, Israel incites a dialogue between past and present as well as fantasy and reality by presenting his own work in the company of historic artworks and artifacts borrowed from the collection of the Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso as well as a selection of art-related movie props sourced from Parisian prop-houses. Among the artifacts (real and faux) are several palettes. Picasso’s actual palettes are here presented in the company of prop palettes as well as Israel’s ownSelf-Portrait (Palette) , 2023. Capturing the very essence ofLa Californie , Israel uses a bit of Hollywood magic to blur distinctions between artifact, artifice and artwork.

[1]Self-Portrait (The Painter) , 2019

— Mara Hoberman, curator and writer

Los Angeles artist Alex Israel’s practice explores the iconography of his hometown, the Hollywood film industry, and the cult of celebrity, embracing its clichés and styles, and posits Los Angeles as central to an understanding of American culture and the American dream. In his paintings, sculptures and installations – including also elements from talk shows and performance art – he conveys, transforms and comments on this city’s mythology and aesthetic.










Today's News

October 31, 2023

Louise Nevelson headlines auction strong in female artists

Ad Reinhardt's work from the 1940s opening soon at David Zwirner

Alex Israel adds a fresh perspective to mark the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death

What is a Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library doing in North Dakota?

Whitney Museum opens renovated Roy Lichtenstein Studio for independent study program

Amazing results achieved by Chinese art at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr

Obama's Presidential Center is rising, finally, in Chicago

'The Art of Looking Up: Following the Stars, from Ancient Cultures to the Webb' at LASM

South Korean artist Ha Chong-hyun opens an exhibition at BLUM

Sculptor Matt Wedel now exhibiting 'Pictures in the Garden' a selection of gouache paintings

Homer Shew solo exhibition at Kiang Malingue now on view

Thomas Chatterton and Horace Walpole's correspondence on infamous Rowley manuscript in Bonhams' Fine Books sale

Cummer Museum new exhibition 'Tattoos in Japanese Prints from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston'

Review: In 'Stereophonic,' the rock revolution will be recorded

Anthony Vidler, architectural historian who reshaped his field, dies at 82

Robert Brustein, passionate force in nonprofit theater, dies at 96

Where folks believe death doesn't exist

'Spooktacular' auction at Clarke Auction Gallery brings in almost a million dollars

Le Consortium, Dijon, presents exhibition by Torbjørn Rødland depicting journey from childhood to old age

Architectural approach of Belgian architect Victor Horta explored in 'Victor Horta and the Grammar of Art Nouveau'

Modernist master sculptors lead Bonhams' modern British art sale

Auction includes a remarkable assortment of Queen Victoria items

Ipamorelin and Fragment 176-191 Enhance Growth and Fat Burning




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful