Imagine Me and You
A solo show by Dana Schutz at Petzel Gallery on view January 10th through February 23rd at Petzel Gallery’s Chelsea location in New York has her signature large scale paintings but also showcases a room of sculptures (a first for the artist).
Vulture describes the exhibition far better than I ever could….
“Her current canvases are hyper assertive, full of operatic grandeur, self-mocking turbulence, acidified flooded color, disfigured hideousness, and the psychopathology of her figures — all clawing in some Malthusian struggle for existence.” - Vulture
Except, I wouldn’t necessarily say the figures are ‘hideous,’ I actually find them quite cute, but that’s just me. I am a lover of the morbid (hence my draw to art by Genevieve Figgis, George Condo, Farley Aguilar and many more).
She takes a similar approach to George Condo by painting people as SHE sees them.
“What would this person look like if there was only one other person on earth to say what he looked like?” Schutz continues her explanation with her perception of achieved sanity, “There is this sense that you always need someone else to check reality with”
This is Schutz’s first major show in New York since being dubbed the ‘Open Casket Artist.’ This came from her painting of teenager Emmett Till, whose death spurred the civil rights movement. Why is this controversial? Because it’s a white woman painting about black civil rights. Which leads one to question….
“Who has the right to tell certain stories, empathetically or not? Is it appropriate when a white artist recasts one of the most influential images of all time — Till’s mutilated body — or is it cultural appropriation?” - The New York Times
All I have to say is it’s an artist's job to push boundaries..to bring issues to light, to be a mirror to society. That job will always be surrounded by controversy, and she wouldn’t be the first artist to make a lot of people angry.
Great exhibition write-ups, if you’d like to dive into greater detail
Galleries that Represent Her
Schutz is represented by Petzel Gallery in New York and Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin.
Considering this is also her first time exhibiting sculptures...I'd say she's done a fine job.
On view until February 23rd, 2019....better catch it before it's gone.
