Ondrej Brody & Kristofer Paetau: Wang Bin Torture in Commercial Quality, High Quality and Museum Quality

March 13th -April 6th
Opening: March 20th: 7-10pm

Ondrej Brody (CZ) & Kristofer Paetau’s (FIN) recent work: ‘Painting China Now’ (2007), is a collection of 30 oil paintings depicting instances of violence inflicted by the Chinese government upon their own citizens (Falun Dafa members). They were rendered with impeccable realism by Chinese craftsmen specialized in copying any picture you send them via e-mail. The series, censored and forbidden images at home, were executed in China and then exported to Europe for display.

In their new work: ‘Wang Bin Torture in Commercial Quality, High Quality and Museum Quality,’ the artists chose an extremely explicit photograph focusing on the massacred torso of a torture victim. Although the original photograph is unsharp, there is no doubt about what it is depicting. Using the Chinese painting companies’ own product quality grade system, Brody & Paetau commisioned the image to be painted in all three grades: Commercial Quality, High Quality and Museum Quality.

What at the first glance appears as cynical artistic exploitation can also be seen as a shock of realities revealed through a conceptual artistic process. On one hand, there is an oppressive political power exercising torture and censorship upon their citizens, on the other, western entities eager to profit from the cheap production forces and ruthless commercialism China offers.

on view now

09.04.-09.30.2010 Opening: Saturday 09.04.2010 7-10pm In September 2010, Peter will be showing a new series of large-scale photographs at Open Source Gallery based on a site-specific installation of his “Trainset Ghetto” sets on the street in front of the gallery storefront space. The images will feature increasingly bizarre and phantasmagorical juxtapositions of time, scale, and [...]

upcoming

ORFI NYC: LIVE GIG 2010
Nobuko: wa
Pirmin Hagen: First

past

Images NYC
make Soap Box Racers for the Soap Box Derby
ONE BIG WINDMILL
Open Source Residency w/Austrian Artists
Patricia Watwood: Portraits 20/10
Cornucopias: Paintings by Rachel Youens
Ondrej Brody & Kristofer Paetau: Wang Bin Torture in Commercial Quality, High Quality and Museum Quality
Akiyuki Ina: Emitting Evanescent Beauty
John Coburn: Fairlane Marauder
Soup Kitchen 12.1 – 12.24