"OLD FRIEND" - MONA LISA
2024
Recycled EPS, Resin, Fiberglass, Pigment, Italian Silver Leaf
55” x 37.5” x 3”
Price on Request
Words from the artist:
This year’s entry into the Laguna Art Museum’s California Cool’s Auction.
I have been circling the idea of including imagery in my works for years; sometime ago I encountered an entire wall of Warhol’s “Sixty-Three White Mona Lisas” at the Whitney Museum. It was so striking and interesting, I knew exactly then that I wanted to make this piece at some point just for myself.
This particular image has the same proportions as used in the 1913 article from the Le Petite Parisian newspaper titled “La Joconde est Retrouvée” (Mona Lisa is Found) after being stolen from the Louvre’s Salon two years prior in 1911. This was significant to me because this is the image that really made the work known worldwide. The initial idea was to use gold leaf for this particular work, however, I realized I had Italian silver leaf, and it just seemed to be appropriate for her and this initial attempt. I’ve also been on something of a tonal kick lately as well.
Big thanks to @LagunaArtMuseum for once again letting me stretch my legs and experiment with screening leafing size, destroying a few screens/works in the process. I love trying new things and this was definitely a mental pretzel. The process of laying down the silver leaf below the fiberglass instead of over it, creates an embossed image which is totally different and interesting.
Recently in the news, masterworks have been vandalized around the world by various groups and activists, the Mona Lisa was the most recent, being showered in canned soup - luckily this medium can be wiped off fairly easily. By the way, you can touch this one and no-one’s the wiser. One of the successes of this work is the eyes, which indeed follow you around the room when encountering the work. I hope those who see this work in person feel some of the things I do, and walk away like they just had a visit with an old friend.@LagunaArtMuseum
2024
Recycled EPS, Resin, Fiberglass, Pigment, Italian Silver Leaf
55” x 37.5” x 3”
Price on Request
Words from the artist:
This year’s entry into the Laguna Art Museum’s California Cool’s Auction.
I have been circling the idea of including imagery in my works for years; sometime ago I encountered an entire wall of Warhol’s “Sixty-Three White Mona Lisas” at the Whitney Museum. It was so striking and interesting, I knew exactly then that I wanted to make this piece at some point just for myself.
This particular image has the same proportions as used in the 1913 article from the Le Petite Parisian newspaper titled “La Joconde est Retrouvée” (Mona Lisa is Found) after being stolen from the Louvre’s Salon two years prior in 1911. This was significant to me because this is the image that really made the work known worldwide. The initial idea was to use gold leaf for this particular work, however, I realized I had Italian silver leaf, and it just seemed to be appropriate for her and this initial attempt. I’ve also been on something of a tonal kick lately as well.
Big thanks to @LagunaArtMuseum for once again letting me stretch my legs and experiment with screening leafing size, destroying a few screens/works in the process. I love trying new things and this was definitely a mental pretzel. The process of laying down the silver leaf below the fiberglass instead of over it, creates an embossed image which is totally different and interesting.
Recently in the news, masterworks have been vandalized around the world by various groups and activists, the Mona Lisa was the most recent, being showered in canned soup - luckily this medium can be wiped off fairly easily. By the way, you can touch this one and no-one’s the wiser. One of the successes of this work is the eyes, which indeed follow you around the room when encountering the work. I hope those who see this work in person feel some of the things I do, and walk away like they just had a visit with an old friend.@LagunaArtMuseum
2024
Recycled EPS, Resin, Fiberglass, Pigment, Italian Silver Leaf
55” x 37.5” x 3”
Price on Request
Words from the artist:
This year’s entry into the Laguna Art Museum’s California Cool’s Auction.
I have been circling the idea of including imagery in my works for years; sometime ago I encountered an entire wall of Warhol’s “Sixty-Three White Mona Lisas” at the Whitney Museum. It was so striking and interesting, I knew exactly then that I wanted to make this piece at some point just for myself.
This particular image has the same proportions as used in the 1913 article from the Le Petite Parisian newspaper titled “La Joconde est Retrouvée” (Mona Lisa is Found) after being stolen from the Louvre’s Salon two years prior in 1911. This was significant to me because this is the image that really made the work known worldwide. The initial idea was to use gold leaf for this particular work, however, I realized I had Italian silver leaf, and it just seemed to be appropriate for her and this initial attempt. I’ve also been on something of a tonal kick lately as well.
Big thanks to @LagunaArtMuseum for once again letting me stretch my legs and experiment with screening leafing size, destroying a few screens/works in the process. I love trying new things and this was definitely a mental pretzel. The process of laying down the silver leaf below the fiberglass instead of over it, creates an embossed image which is totally different and interesting.
Recently in the news, masterworks have been vandalized around the world by various groups and activists, the Mona Lisa was the most recent, being showered in canned soup - luckily this medium can be wiped off fairly easily. By the way, you can touch this one and no-one’s the wiser. One of the successes of this work is the eyes, which indeed follow you around the room when encountering the work. I hope those who see this work in person feel some of the things I do, and walk away like they just had a visit with an old friend.@LagunaArtMuseum