Artist Bjarne Melgaard's artistic alter ego BFBC Inc. (the SFW acronym for "Big Fat Black Cock") takes curation to another level with GANG BUST, the new show at Venus Over Manhattan. The exhibition features original erotic paintings by the legendary artist William Copley made in the 50s and 70s alongside Melgaard's own Copley reappropriations––paintings of African-American figures copulating in lieu of Copley's Caucasian lovers. Also on display are BFBC furniture pieces inspired by Allen Jones' highly suggestive sculptures.
Copley lived a rich and complicated life. The artist, writer, gallerist, curator, collector, and art patron was adopted by a media mogul, married six times, helped rejuvenate the artistic scene in LA, New York, and Paris after World War II. Having been deeply inspired by the French Surrealists, he remains one of the most inspiring figures of Pop Art. Through the show––a swirl of colors, bodies, and Matissian motifs––BFBC explores a historical vision of eroticism based on revisiting art pieces that blend provocation with delight. I had a chat with the show's curator, Anna Furley.
Alexandre Stipanovich: Can you tell us more about BFBC?
Anna Furley: BFBC Inc. is Bjarne Melgaard's alter ego under which he painted the group of William Copley/ X-rated series-inspired works.
Did Copley show mostly European Surrealist work in his Beverly Hills gallery? Do you think he was one of the first art aficionados to create a conversation between LA, New York, and Paris?
Copley was one of the few who championed Surrealism in the American market at the time, even though his gallery in Beverly Hills was a bit of a commercial failure. But ultimately it was his relationship with the Surrealists that encouraged his painting practice.
What would you say are the principal aims of the BFBC works reappropriating Copley?
BFBC's paintings are in direct response to the original Copley X-rated series so famously exhibited in the austere, wood paneled galleries of the former Huntington Hardford Museum in 1974. BFBC's work really aims at reintroducing/rekindling that sort of shock, awe, and sensational reaction that was achieved in 1974 when the Copley works were first on view.
Through June 22, 2013
VENUS OVER MANHATTAN
908 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
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Copley lived a rich and complicated life. The artist, writer, gallerist, curator, collector, and art patron was adopted by a media mogul, married six times, helped rejuvenate the artistic scene in LA, New York, and Paris after World War II. Having been deeply inspired by the French Surrealists, he remains one of the most inspiring figures of Pop Art. Through the show––a swirl of colors, bodies, and Matissian motifs––BFBC explores a historical vision of eroticism based on revisiting art pieces that blend provocation with delight. I had a chat with the show's curator, Anna Furley.
Alexandre Stipanovich: Can you tell us more about BFBC?
Anna Furley: BFBC Inc. is Bjarne Melgaard's alter ego under which he painted the group of William Copley/ X-rated series-inspired works.
Did Copley show mostly European Surrealist work in his Beverly Hills gallery? Do you think he was one of the first art aficionados to create a conversation between LA, New York, and Paris?
Copley was one of the few who championed Surrealism in the American market at the time, even though his gallery in Beverly Hills was a bit of a commercial failure. But ultimately it was his relationship with the Surrealists that encouraged his painting practice.
What would you say are the principal aims of the BFBC works reappropriating Copley?
BFBC's paintings are in direct response to the original Copley X-rated series so famously exhibited in the austere, wood paneled galleries of the former Huntington Hardford Museum in 1974. BFBC's work really aims at reintroducing/rekindling that sort of shock, awe, and sensational reaction that was achieved in 1974 when the Copley works were first on view.
Through June 22, 2013
VENUS OVER MANHATTAN
908 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
MAP
