NEW YORK – More than a decade after his last major exhibition in New York (2011), the Paduan artist Maurizio Cattelan (currently also present at the 60th Venice Biennale at the Holy See Pavilion) returns to the American scene with a provocative and disturbing exhibition Gagosian Gallery. Sundaywhich opens to the public on April 30, 2024, curated by Francesco Bonami, features 64 24-carat gold-plated steel panels, riddled with bullets.
The work, which reflects the image of the spectator as if he too were hit by bullets thanks to a kaleidoscopic play of mirrors, restores an atmosphere of disturbing ambiguity. The panels represent an indictment of America’s culture of violencewhere mass shootings, murders and wars are now an integral part of everyday life.
Beauty, luxury and violence
As Cattelan explains to New York Times in one of his rare interviews, the installation recalls the image of a firing squad, where death row inmates are shot against a wall. “When I read the newspapers – confesses the artist – they only talk about violence. We are completely immersed in it, every day, and we are used to it. Repetition has made us accept violence as inevitable.”
With Sunday, the audience is invited to confront the aftermath of a shooting, seeing their own reflection riddled with bullets. The seductive beauty of gold contrasts with the brutality of bullets, creating an image that simultaneously accuses and glorifies violence.
A universal message
Cattelan is no stranger to dealing with the topic of violence. In the past, he has shot (or rather, had shot) American and British flags. With SundayHowever, the artist abandon the nationalistic symbolism of the flag to focus on the violence itself, universalizing its message. The golden panels, defined by Cattelan as his first abstract works, present similar shades to the cut canvases of Lucio Fontana.
The weapons used to create the work were “used as chisels” to engrave the metal. Cattelan hired shooters at a New York range to shoot at the panels with weapons that were easily available thanks to American laws. “Where else in the world could something like this be done?“, the artist asks ironically.
A dialogue between works
In addition to the main installation, Cattelan presents another work in the gallery: una marble fountain depicting a supine man holding his exposed phallus and causing water to gush out. “There is a dialogue between these two works, in their opposition and in their proximity“, explains the artist. The figure, modeled on a dead friend and collaborator, represents “the invisible groups of people in society“.
“These are works that take on a different weight if exhibited in New York“, comments the curator Francesco Bonami. “Maurizio Cattelan is a political artist, not in the sense that he presents a position, but in the sense that he addresses society’s problems and current events, and always touches a raw nerve. We’ll see how Americans will welcome this exhibition“.
Cattelan, one of the world’s most important contemporary artists, is known for his provocative and often iconoclastic art. He is not afraid to tackle uncomfortable topics and challenge conventions. “You should never ask an artist about his art. The best art raises lots and lots of questions. Not answers“, says Cattelan in the interview with New York Times.
Sunday it’s a’powerful and disturbing work which invites us to reflect on the culture of American violence and the role of art in denouncing social injustices. The public reception will certainly be controversial, but there is no doubt that it will leave its mark.
