ART ON THE WALLS: Gucci on Thursday unveiled murals in Milan, New York, London and Hong Kong. The art walls celebrate the upcoming exhibition supported by Gucci called “The Artist Is Present.” Running Oct. 11 to Dec. 16 at Shanghai’s Yuz Museum, the show was curated by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.
The murals re-create the poster of the exhibition, which features an original artwork dating back to 2010 for Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist Is Present” solo show at MoMA in New York. Replicating images of the media campaign for Abramovic’s show resonates with the themes of the exhibition in Shanghai, which explores the art of copying and cultural appropriation.
The murals in New York’s SoHo district, Milan’s Corso Garibaldi, Hong Kong’s D’Anguilar Street and a stone’s throw from London’s Brick Lane will be flanked by an additional art wall in Shanghai’s Jingan district to be unveiled in the coming weeks to promote the opening of the exhibition in the Chinese city.
Although Abramovic is not involved in the project, the artist’s work has provided Cattelan with a source of inspiration. “Copying is like a blasphemy: It could seem not respectful toward God, but at the same time is the significant recognition of its existence,” the artist said.
The poster of the upcoming “The Artist is Present” show in Shanghai.
Ronan Gallagher; from an image by Marco Anelli©️ 2010
The exhibition will feature site-specific and existing artworks from more than 30 Chinese and foreign artists including Damon Zucconi, Christopher Williams, Ma Jun, Aleksandra Mir and Sayre Gomez, among others.
Gucci has already taken to walls to celebrate a diverse range of projects including the brand’s spring 2018 and pre-fall 2018 advertising campaigns, last February and May, respectively, and its collaboration with artist Angelica Hicks last year.