Donatelle ver-jay-zee

Notes

"These brand names, logos, and symbols of commodity culture are less frivolous than they may be read to be, as they are - not only in Paulsen's work, but inside of a generational understanding of their symbolism-signifiers of a much larger culture of meta-ironic, concurrently self-aggrandising and self-deprecating aspirations for leisure and luxury in the context of an increasingly unstable social, political landscape." —M Thesen Law, 2014¹

The present lot appeared on Jody Paulsen's debut solo exhibition, Pushing Thirty, a vivid showcase of his maximalist approach to composition that included 21 of his signature felt collages. A method perfected at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town, Paulsen's brash ensemble pieces intermix references from pop culture, fashion, and cartoons, and often include additional text slogans demonstrating his media literacy and/or discussing his mixed-race queer identity. Paulsen credits artists Cameron Platter and Julia Rosa Clark for inspiring him to pursue an installation-based approach to displaying his work. Paulsen's collages invite comparisons with Jeremy Deller's processional banners and Tracey Emin's quilts, although, attitudinally at least, his work is closer to Andy Warhol in its love affair with consumer culture. This lot references the logo of the Italian luxury fashion company Versace, a stylised depiction of the head of Medusa. The exaggerated tears recall Brett Murray's wall-hung sculptures of baroque figures weeping from his exhibition Crocodile Tears (2007). Paulsen's interest in fashion is pronounced: he collaborates with designer Adriaan Kuiters on a fashion range, which has been lauded by Vogue Italia, among others.

Paulsen's work has been featured in exhibitions such as Materiality at Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2020); Radical Love at the Ford Foundation Gallery, New York City, NY, USA (2019); and All Things Being Equal at Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town (2017).

^1.M Thesen Law (2017) 'Late Stage Capitalism Luxe', adjective, 2(1), Winter, page 75.

Provenance

Strauss & Co, Cape Town, 17 February 2018, lot 25.

Exhibited

SMAC, Cape Town, Pushing Thirty, 11 February to 25 March 2017.

Literature

M Thesen Law (2017) 'Late Stage Capitalism Luxe', adjective, 2(1), Winter, illustrated in black and white on page 75.