For his first ever solo exhibition in a Berlin gallery, Mode 2 has produed a new series of works centered on the female body. His obsession for the subject is ever present throughout his work and with OFFERINGS, Mode 2 focuses on the topic in an explicit, yet at the same time ambiguous fashion.
His large-scale renderings of the female body are drawn from a specific perspective, recalling Gustave Courbet’s L’origine du monde. This perspectival point of view suggests that the female is significantly larger than the canvas, making her appear like a goddess. Underlining this position are the male figures in the paintings - much smaller than the female figure – that appear to be making offerings to the goddesses. However, the complexity of female/male relationships and societal definitions of gender roles, as well as the torrent of visual information we are confronted with on a day to day basis, give the painting a level of ambiguity. After all, the female body is seldom shown in such an explicit manner outside the realm associated with pornography. Are the women in fact the ones offering themselves to the male figures or to the public gaze? And can we, as viewers, succumb to the gaze offered to us by the artist?
Mode 2 creates an atmosphere in which the viewer is being stimulated to think about their own sexuality and confront their own universes of associative conditioning. An offering from the artist to his viewers, if you may.
His large-scale renderings of the female body are drawn from a specific perspective, recalling Gustave Courbet’s L’origine du monde. This perspectival point of view suggests that the female is significantly larger than the canvas, making her appear like a goddess. Underlining this position are the male figures in the paintings - much smaller than the female figure – that appear to be making offerings to the goddesses. However, the complexity of female/male relationships and societal definitions of gender roles, as well as the torrent of visual information we are confronted with on a day to day basis, give the painting a level of ambiguity. After all, the female body is seldom shown in such an explicit manner outside the realm associated with pornography. Are the women in fact the ones offering themselves to the male figures or to the public gaze? And can we, as viewers, succumb to the gaze offered to us by the artist?Mode 2 creates an atmosphere in which the viewer is being stimulated to think about their own sexuality and confront their own universes of associative conditioning. An offering from the artist to his viewers, if you may.
Lucas Carrieri Galerie
Potsdamer Strasse 103, 1st floor - 10785 Berlin
Potsdamer Strasse 103, 1st floor - 10785 Berlin
September 23 – November 12, 2011
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