Olaf Breuning

Olaf Breuning
MARILYNS

september 3 – october 23, 2010
Ny Carlsberg Vej 68, Copenhagen

”I want to be a machine”, sounds one of Andy Warhol’s most famous quotes. The pop artist surrendered himself and his art to the endless repetitions of mass culture, and assimilated to the dominating media and consumer culture of his time. Ironically, his silkscreen prints of Marilyn Monroe have become some of the most reproduced works of art ever.

Following a long lasting interest in art historical appropriations and references Olaf Breuning’s solo exhibition Marilyns takes its formal point of departure in Andy Warhol’s iconic portraits. As it is typical for Breuning he is inspired by his near surroundings – in this case an image instantly recognizable to most people.

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Whilst Warhol, in his break with painting, utilized the copy’s repetitions by means of the silkscreen technique, Olaf Breuning refers to the painterly tradition by providing his Marilyns with naked and black painted bodies. Dressed in apparent and coarse brush strokes the women stare back at the viewer, and Breuning does not only appropriate Marilyn’s portrait, but puts her into dialogue with the nudes of the western art historical tradition.

As regards to content Olaf Breuning’s artistic project generally reflects the shallowness of modern western culture, but always with an underlying self-irony and acknowledgment of being part of the society that surrounds him. ”If you can’t beat it – join it”, seems to be the slogan of Warhol and Breuning alike, added a fundamental hope of exposing the smugness and hypocrisy of modern society from within.

Olaf Breuning is also part of the group exhibition Make yourself at home on display at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen. The exhibition takes place from 04.09. to 21.11.2010. For this show Breuning has created a new sculpture. Additionally his massive sculptures from the series Humans as well as the film Home 2 will be presented in the exhibition.
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Works
Artist Biography
OLAF BREUNING

Born in Schaffhausen, CH, 1970
Lives and works in New York City, NY, USA

Breuning works in different mediums including photography, drawing, sculpture, video, and installation. In his work Breuning explores the boundaries between fact and fiction, where art becomes a part of life and not as an isolated world that unfolds in parallel with the rest of society. At first sight, Breuning’s humoristic self-irony may appear simplified and accessible, but when you look closer his works are deep and complex.

Breuning mixes elements from high and low culture, where canonical works from art history stand side by side with phenomena from popular culture. In an eclectic manner, he identifies elements from Western visual culture and stages them anew - often with an absurd or humorous twist. In other words, Breuning embeds reflections on the lifestyle and consumerism of today’s Western society in his works. Breuning has been shown at NRW Forum Düsseldorf, DE; The Public Art Fund, Firedman Plaza, New York, US; Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, ICA London, UK; PS1 MOMA, New York, US; Migros Musum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, CH; Haus der Kunst, Munich, DE; Tinguely Museum, Basel, CH.

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