assemblage

While the concept of this show, to demonstrate the influence Warhol has had over the past 50 or so years,  is not necessarily unique, the show is well organized and provides a rare opportunity to view the work of probably the most influential contemporary artists all together in one show. The show is composed of five sections: “Daily News: From Banality to Disaster,” “Portraiture: Celebrity and Power,” “Queer Studies: Shifting Identities,” “Consuming Images: Appropriation, Abstraction, and Seriality,” and “No Boundaries: Business, Collaboration, and Spectacle.”

Some of my personal highlights included Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson and Bubbles, the room wallpapered with Takashi Murakami flowers, and of course Glenn Ligon’s Malcolm X (in case you didn’t already know from my previous posts, Ligon is one of my favorite artists).

On view at the MET through December 31

Before seeing this show, I was unfamiliar with Szapocznikow’s work. But I was very impressed with the intricate detail  of the colored polyester resin sculptures and the unexpected juxtapositions and placement of body parts. While creating sculptures of various body parts is not necessarily new, what interested me was the placement and use of the body, particularly the lips and breasts, in everyday locations, such as lip lamps (below).

I would highly recommend this interesting retrospective. The show was well designed and provided a solid survey of the artists’ work during the selected period.

The show is on view at MoMA, New York, through January 28.

SHOWstudio blog article on some exciting recent press about the Gao Brothers!