Skip to main content

Birth Machine Baby


If you're a fan of the Alien movie franchise or if you have a strong penchant for grotesque surrealism, you might want to check out this show at the Gagosian, New York featuring works by Swiss artist H.R. Giger and Canadian sculptor Mark Prent. 

"Depicting subject matter gleaned from the depths of his psychic anxieties, Giger’s stylized sculptures merge writhing, skeletal organisms with elegant metallic features, coalescing in his signature “biomechanical” style. Although Giger was best known for designing the iconic extraterrestrial Xenomorph from Alien (1979), his other works display the full range of his artistic influences, which span from ancient Egyptian statuary to twentieth-century artists such as Salvador Dalí and Francis Bacon.

Displaying a mastery of hyperrealistic sculptural techniques, Prent’s uncanny fiberglass and resin sculptures simultaneously shock and enthrall. His art—which has remained fundamentally grounded in the human form since the 1970s—melds familiar anatomies with bizarre, animalistic limbs and features, provoking a visceral process of recognition and emotional connection in the beholder. Prent’s work challenges our understanding of the body as we know it, creating haunting, chimerical hybrids that elicit innovative visual dialogues when juxtaposed with Giger’s biomechanical creations."


Birth Machine Baby runs until December 21, 2019.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hand-Painted Movie Posters by Tony Stella

In the 70s and 80s movie theaters in Manila were usually standalone buildings with nice seats and red curtains. To sell tickets, cinemas needed to advertise their offerings. But they did not have the original posters, or the means to print alternatives. So they made their own, commissioning local artists to hand-paint them. I really miss those hand-painted posters and billboards, which conveyed an artistry that was a form of visual hyperbole. But hand-made objects always have a way of returning. In this digital age, people will always look for things made by hand. I recently stumbled across the work of Tony Stella, whose genuinely cool movie posters have caught the eye of film enthusiasts and art lovers worldwide. He likes to work in watercolor and ink wash but sometimes he will make an oil painting, depending on the film. Tony's very active on social media, and his Tumblr blog contains a massive collection of illustrated movie posters that are often better than the original. ...

Mark Poulier's Leaning Tower of Coffee Cups

Some people like to ruin their coffee with things like milk and sugar, others want their coffee black. But Australian artist Mark Poulier seems to be enjoying his morning brew with a lot of ink and a little imagination. Mark specializes in drawing architecture, but recently, he's been experimenting with coffee cup art. I really like his Leaning Tower of Coffee Cups. Intricately detailed, stacked and leaned properly — the paper cups look just like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. To see more awesomeness from Mark, be sure to check him out on Instagram . [h/t: Foodiggity ]

Living A Double Life

I should have better things to do—but I have to admit to splurging an excessive amount of time and attention last week on an Italian confection strangely titled Baby . It's about a bunch of kids in Rome who deal with domestic strife and school bullies by selling drugs, getting really wasted and "seducing" older men with their youthful beauty. Baby gives you the perpetual, skin-crawling reminder that you're sitting and staring at young women's bodies, enjoying the way you can set foot into their lives and then turn away when the scenes do not interest you any longer. Oh my god. Chiara. Chiara is so hot. The series has a contagious misery, and may remind you of your younger, brasher, more energetic self. Here's another fact: It was inspired by the real-life Baby Squillo (Baby Prostitute) scandal, in which a group of young girls became involved in a prostitution ring. In many of the episodes, sex and teenage romance get mixed up without much effort and I never s...