Masterpieces Prophecies. 2016

YEAR:                  2016

MATERIALS:        acrylic paint, canvas, gold barock frame

SIZE:                    300 x 150 x 5 cm (118,1 x 59,1 x 1,9 in)

CATERGORY:      Unique

LOCATION:          Galerie Dennie Boxem Zwolle

PRICE:                 €17.500,- (incl. 9% btw and frame)

‘Masterpieces Prophecies’ shows a number of masterpieces of art history prophesying the urge to care for our planet.

We see Michelangelo’s (1475-1564) God. God is not creating Adam, but Andy Warhols (1928-1987) Cambell’s chicken soup can. Boxem uses Warhol, who has quotes as “making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art”, as the personification of capitalism and mass consumption. Warhols art represents the first generation to prioritize making money, mass production and economical growth above craftsmanship, nature and men itself. At this point in history we knowingly start to disadvantage our planet, while being aware of the consequences. This results in Eschers (1898-1972) gecko’s representing the plastic soup and Alexis Rockmans (1962-) melting ice caps. Rockman uses jellyfish in a couple of paintings like in ‘Manifest Destiny’. Boxem combines the jellyfish with plastic bags; the fact that some jellyfish (Turritopsis Nutricula) are immortal, is a metaphor for plastic being nearly imperishable as well. Picasso’s (1881-1973) bull and horse from the ‘Guernica’ painting represents the great numbers of wars being fought nowadays. Dalí’s (1904-1989) elephant has thin, breakable, long legs. This symbolizes the high morals of humans in contrast to the fact that we will be bound to earth by gravity for ever; the legs (and our morals) will stretch out high up in the sky, while our feet will remain in the earthly dirt. Jheronimus Bosch (1450-1516) his Hellish figures is what will remain after abusing our planet the way we do.