Paul McCarthy
drawing, painting and as action, performance 1965 to 2021
10 November – 23 December 2022
New York, 22nd Street
Hauser & Wirth New York presents a special presentation of acclaimed American artist Paul McCarthy’s seminal and biting satirical video performance ‘Painter’ (1995), as well as a notable selection of paintings, photographs, drawings and other video works highlighting the artist’s practice. One of the leading artists of his generation, McCarthy has developed a distinct and subversive artistic practice throughout his long career, which now spans more than five decades.
A landmark work of the 1990s that is among his best-known pieces, ‘Painter’ is a scathing satire on the idea of the heroic artist and the medium of painting that also manifests political critique. The video shows McCarthy himself performing as the eponymous painter, inside a set of an artist’s studio and bedroom. McCarthy is accompanied by a gallerist and collectors, all of whom, including the artist, exhibit fetishistic behaviors and are preoccupied with money and social status. The props include several canvases, over-sized brushes and giant tubes of paint, as well as a table with jars of mayonnaise and bottles of sauce. McCarthy is dressed in a typical artist’s smock as well as a blonde wig, and he wears a number of prosthetics, including a bulbous nose, large ears and oversize hands that are reminiscent of a clown costume.
In this exhibition, the performative aspect of ‘Painter’ is reinforced as a long-held concern in McCarthy’s work through the inclusion of an important early antecedent piece titled ‘Face, Head, Shoulder Painting - Wall, Black Line’ from 1972. Consisting of 19 Gelatin silver print photographs, it shows the artist carrying a can of paint at head height, leaning into a wall, and creating a line painting by tipping the can as he walks while applying the paint with his shoulder as a ‘paintbrush.’ Such early instructional performances recorded through photography or video bring the body and painting together in a way that lays the groundwork for McCarthy’s later, much more elaborate video performances such as ‘Painter.’
A&E, Table Stack, Santa Anita Session, 2 Channel
Paul McCarthy, Adolf Adam Lilith Stangenberg, Eva Eve
2021 2-channel color video, Duration: 1:46:32 min, 2 monitors, Brightsign players, cords
On view in New York
‘Paul McCarthy drawing, painting and as action, performance 1965 to 2021’ is on view now through 23 December 2022 at Hauser & Wirth New York, 22nd Street.
On view now through 23 December 2022 at Hauser & Wirth New York, 22nd Street.
Current Exhibitions
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