Gallery Exhibition: Tom Wesselmann, Bedroom Paintings, Gagosian London
The nipple is well and truly freed in the Gagosian's upcoming exhibition of Tom Wesselmann nudes
Bedroom Painting #4, 1968, oil on canvas, 36 × 60 inches (91.4 × 152.4 cm) © The Estate of Tom Wesselmann/Licensed by VAGA, New York
Think of Tom Wesselmann, and you think of erect nipples, vermillion lips and reclining nudes.
Wesselmann’s erotic pop-coloured canvasses have allured pop-art's A-List since the 1960s. A far cry from Warholian soup tins, Wesselman's work is as provocative as it is controversial. He's perhaps best known for his giant 1960s Great American Nudes series, a bold project which saw the artist trying to establish a new, patriotic mode of expression in the visual arts to rival the success of the American novel.
Like his contemporaries, Wesselmann was fascinated by American consumer culture during the boom years. He was celebrated for offsetting nudes modelled on the traditional prototypes of Titian and Matisse with the stark reds, whites, and blues of the American flag so popular with contemporary advertisers.
While previous Wesselmann exhibitions at Alan Cristea Gallery have caused a stir, Gagosian London’s upcoming exhibition, Bedroom Paintings, is perhaps the most risqué to date.
The selected paintings from his Bedroom Paintings series, made between 1968 and 1983, en route to Gagosian, feature fragmented body parts, enlarged by a narrow focus, juxtaposed with objects common to the bedroom. Erect nipples, full painted lips, and feet are backdropped by light switches, ash trays and pillows. With his bold primary colour palette and abstract, collage-like style fragmenting the body, it's no surprise Wesselmann has been accused of misogyny, of equating women with the mute, consumable objects they are placed next to.
Consequently, these arresting, boldly sexual works have divided opinion. His salaciously splayed nudes seemed primed to outrage – or at least to capitalise on the old adage 'sex sells'. Wesselman himself claimed his work only 'really began' when he came in closer on the nude, when he dealt 'with big shapes' to emphasise his treatment of abstract form and colour.
With free admission, and a lovely setting, it's worth heading down to Gagosian this autumn to see whether these intriguing nudes get too close for comfort.
Wesselmann’s erotic pop-coloured canvasses have allured pop-art's A-List since the 1960s. A far cry from Warholian soup tins, Wesselman's work is as provocative as it is controversial. He's perhaps best known for his giant 1960s Great American Nudes series, a bold project which saw the artist trying to establish a new, patriotic mode of expression in the visual arts to rival the success of the American novel.
Like his contemporaries, Wesselmann was fascinated by American consumer culture during the boom years. He was celebrated for offsetting nudes modelled on the traditional prototypes of Titian and Matisse with the stark reds, whites, and blues of the American flag so popular with contemporary advertisers.
While previous Wesselmann exhibitions at Alan Cristea Gallery have caused a stir, Gagosian London’s upcoming exhibition, Bedroom Paintings, is perhaps the most risqué to date.
The selected paintings from his Bedroom Paintings series, made between 1968 and 1983, en route to Gagosian, feature fragmented body parts, enlarged by a narrow focus, juxtaposed with objects common to the bedroom. Erect nipples, full painted lips, and feet are backdropped by light switches, ash trays and pillows. With his bold primary colour palette and abstract, collage-like style fragmenting the body, it's no surprise Wesselmann has been accused of misogyny, of equating women with the mute, consumable objects they are placed next to.
Consequently, these arresting, boldly sexual works have divided opinion. His salaciously splayed nudes seemed primed to outrage – or at least to capitalise on the old adage 'sex sells'. Wesselman himself claimed his work only 'really began' when he came in closer on the nude, when he dealt 'with big shapes' to emphasise his treatment of abstract form and colour.
With free admission, and a lovely setting, it's worth heading down to Gagosian this autumn to see whether these intriguing nudes get too close for comfort.
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| What | Gallery Exhibition: Tom Wesselmann, Bedroom Paintings, Gagosian London |
| Where | Gagosian Davies Street, 17-19 Davies Street, London, W1k 3DE | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Bond Street (underground) |
| When |
04 Oct 17 – 16 Dec 17, Tuesday to Saturday 10am - 6pm |
| Price | £free |
| Website | Please click here for more information |