Louis XIV - Time Shifts, Patterns Stay the Same Collage

About the Series “Time Shifts, Patterns Stay the Same” Marlies Pekarek here follows historical paintings that she subjects to various changes on the computer and transfers onto black-and-white paper and foil collages. Among the personalities are Louis XIV, once as a young king after an unknown print and once painted in coronation robes by Hyacinthe Rigaud. To which also belongs the strange depiction “The Sick Monkey”, a reworked illustration from the “Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillance” (1735), in which an elegant gentleman and his monkey turn to each other in the body language of lovers. Marlies Pekarek exposes the disconcertingly latent mixture of anthropomorphism, on the one hand, and the will to tame and downplay wild nature, on the other; compare the series “apes ” made of porcelain. The fact that you can, for instance, have an artist in China copy any conceivable painting from European art history that you order, thanks to the Internet, is also part of this topic, just as well as the millions of images of saints and Madonnas that have for centuries been hawked at large pilgrims’ sites. Closely linked to this aspect of reproduction is the question of the materials. What is precious, e.g., ivory, is replaced by cheap imitations while, in turn, obvious copies are framed in costly frames. Marlies Pekarek, by choosing this line of action of consciously using everyday materials like wax paper, photocopies, plastic foil, plaster, wax and soap, takes up this aspect of production and representation. At the same time she creates new originals that ennoble these simple materials and motifs and gives them back something precious and unique. The work series “Time Shifts, Patterns Stay the Same” formulates one of the artist’s key insights from her longstanding studies: Even when times change, behavioral patterns may remain unaffected. Corinne Schatz From the German by Jeanne Haunschild

Collage:Paper on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:62.2 W x 90.6 H x 0.8 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.