Power
Larger than Life Art
In the latest edition of MASTERS, the iconic works of top artist and guest editor-in-chief Joseph Klibansky are showcased in a four-part series. Joseph explains: "My art is a reflection on society. I highlight certain things and blow them up in the form of a monumental image. I put that back into society so that viewers can have a moment of reflection."
The latest edition of MASTERS features the iconic works of top artist and guest editor-in-chief Joseph Klibansky. Joseph: “My art is a reflection on society. I highlight certain things and blow them up in the form of a monumental image. I put that back into society so that the spectators can have a moment of reflection." Text: Bart - Jan Brouwer
Online editorial: Noa Verseveldt
Image: Joseph Klibansky studio
BIRTHDAY SUIT (2021)
“Birthday Suit is another term for 'being naked'. It's the suit you wore when you were born. This chimpanzee is standing naked, wearing a party hat, a rolling tongue in its mouth and a bouquet of roses in its hand. He adopts a somewhat awkward position, with his stomach forward. This sculpture stands in front of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. For me, this work is about whether or not you take opportunities. That can be in love – having the flowers, being ready for the party, but neglecting to make the move. Do you wait or are you someone who goes for it? Are you comfortable continuing to work for the same boss or are you taking the step to start your own business? But of course everyone is allowed to have their own interpretation. For example: even if you are naked, no matter how stupid, stay true to yourself, to who you are, and have fun in life.”
BIG BANG (2016)
“I was on my way with my parents to visit a bronze foundry in Germany. We were eating a Kaiser roll with sausage in a roadside restaurant when an idea occurred to me. I took a pen and paper and sketched that gorilla. He reminds me a bit of my father. On the one hand he is whole supportive, but on the other hand also quite reserved. The gorilla has one partyhat and a horn in his mouth – a symbol for 'walking in the parade' – but also raises an eyebrow and looks with a slanted eye. “That's what I said,” is what you can expect when things go wrong. We put a lot of time and effort into getting the character of the piece right. We wanted a kind of Mona Lisa effect: that the eyes keep following you when you look at it from different angles. Normally you can create depth with color, but this image is completely black. It took a lot of effort to really make it character to make. I just really wanted to make this piece, but we didn't expect it to be such a success. All the images were sold, all the screen prints were sold, it became the cover of my book, the hero images from my show in Venice. This was really one for us big bang. "
BEYOND THE CLOUDS – THE PAINTING (2020)
“This is the largest work I have ever made: 7,20 x 5,50 meters. It was a commission for the 300th anniversary of ABN AMRO MeesPierson in 2020. It is a canvas that consists of many panels. We hung it up and took pictures of it to show that the painting was really made in that size. We then cut the canvas into 42.000 squares. We sent all these fragments of the original painting to the customers of the celebrating private bank, including a video of the making of: the birth and destruction of the work of art. Each square is numbered. By entering the number on the website, you could see exactly where your piece of painting was in the whole.”
ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL (2017) SINNERS AND SAINTS (2017)
“I had a major exhibition at Kunsthalle Guangzhou in China, in a space of about 1.200 square meters in total. In one room of 300 square meters, I had a complete wallpaper and floor installed in the same theme as my paintings, so that visitors, as it were, stepped into my work. All floors, all walls: it was actually one big painting. And then we hung my paintings on the wall, thought paintings. Bizarre!"
Order the new MASTERS MAGAZINE!
