Vue de l’exposition pêchue de McCarthy à la Galerie Hauser & Wirth. © Paul McCarthy. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo : François Fernande
Burlesque’ is doubtless one of the words that springs to mind when you see the work of this American artist. His lampoon figures, half human, half animal, raise deep questions. This selection of works, born of Paul McCarthy’s fascination for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland, includes sculptures, drawings, videos and photographs. The artist earned notoriety with his 79-foot Tree installation on Place Vendôme. Here he presents an allegory of our society, addressing the links between violence, depravity and masculinity. In this hypersexual chaos with its humorous tags there are ships, a captain who can’t see further than the end of his phallic protuberance, a large pink sow lying passively on her side, and some ecstatically open-mouthed pinups. In large works on paper using pencil, charcoal, marker pen and collage, McCarthy studies the flood of images that pour from capitalist society and the porn industry. Alongside, he presents a series of photos taken at his live performances. Through this performative side and the many characters he has created, McCarthy sets out to demolish the distinction between high culture and low. He detects the traumatisms hidden beneath the American dream and into this setting, seemingly in a state of collapse, he weaves parallels with the history of art.
Jusqu’au 27 août
Hauser & Wirth Monaco, One Monte-Carlo, Place du Casino, 98000 Monaco
Tél. +377 92 00 04 20 - www.hauserwirth.com
Côteweb 2021, création de site Internet sur Nice