DOLL'ART
(and other political thoughts....)
DOLL’ART series was initially a critical work on money as mirror of our individual and collective drivers but gradually evolved into a deeper critic of our Systems (politics, democracy, rights and selfishness).
In his work, the artist has evolve to dig into different social and psychological fields, questioning us on the (cheap) “Price of Democracies”, the definition of Happiness as a materialistic condition and the political paradigm of our elites.
YOU THE PEOPLE
2020 - 90 x 45 cm (each) | New York Times front page + acrylic, gold powder and stencil spray paint
Donald Trump signature painted with gold glitters on a double page of NYT newspaper listing the name of the first 100.000 death of COVID-19.
"YOU THE POEPLE" refer to the US constitution and how Politicians consider their citizens as another (lower) class of people. Them being above the laws and this same constitution they supposedly represent.
The work could also have been named "With my best regards"...
SOMETIME A DOLLA IS JUST A DOLLAR
2020 - Paper Sheet 90 x 70 | Uncut real USD notes & Acrylic calligraphy
Freud supposedly saw sexual references in everything, describing mental problems using classical references and sex to explain them.
So if I smoke a big cigar, I am trying to send a message about my penis.
But his quote "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" he simply states that sometimes there is no deeper meaning or message to things. Sometimes I smoke a cigar because I want to smoke a cigar, and not because I want to convey a message about other things....
In this work, I used the Freud thought process to dive into the true meaning of money. Mixing history, psychology, Pop art and a litle of my sarcasme.
The amended original quotes had been written with Freud' hand writting!
#METOO I WANT TO BE A PRESIDENT
2018 - 90 x 45 cm (each) | Diptych - Fine art printing handmade glittering
This artwork is a statement on woman empowerment in politics, inviting to rethink about men legacy and vision while emphasising the lake of women influence. Made on a Wall Street journal main page of Obama presidential oath speech on 20st Jan 2009
WHAT HISTORY IS MADE OF (tribute to Jasper Johns)
2014 - 2018 | Canvas 60 x 90 cm | Acrylic paint on old vintage compressed newspapers (Since 1865)
This work is a tribute to Jasper Johns and his first art work, an American Flag on old papers.
Made of compressed pages of newspapers across 100+ years this work materialise the forgotten times of "what made the History", these events that slowly and gradually built the American Icon of the Flag
I WILL RIP YOU OFF
2018 - 90 x 90cm | Original uncut sheet of USD, Acrylic paint, posca and glitters
Thoughts on the presupposed rebel of the art market making his latest public art performance in front of billionaires, bankers and other golden boys in London at Sotheby's...
BLOODY CAPITALISM
2018 - 90 x 90cm | Original uncut sheet of 2 USD, Acrylic paint, posca and red nail polish
This work wants to emphasis the wide varieties of economic inequalities, in the distribution of income and the distribution of wealth between different groups of people on wealth, income, education, health, freedom and consumption.
TURN THE BULL LOO$E!
2018 - Canvas 110 x 82 cm | Acrylic aint on real USD notes
This work is a tribute to Ronald Reagan speech at Wall Street for the opening of the NYSE in 1985.
Considered as a milestone and starting point of the contemporary economic model based on trading and stock markets. In this work, Gabriel again wants to question the sense of economic growth of this "bull fight" where the bull never die...
DOES MONEY MAKE HAPPINESS #1
2014 - Paper Sheet 70 x 70 | Uncut real USD notes & Acrylic calligraphy
For his time in Asia, Gabriel found that Far East cultures determine money as a determinant of happiness while he learnt in the western world that “Money does not make happiness”.
This piece, not only as a cultural difference marker, is finally an invitation to plunge into the concept of happiness as a human being condition, meaning a materialistic concept, balancing with a human spirit approach as a complex philosophical concept. Both being anyway an achievement…
DRAGON POWER
2024 - Uncut real USD notes & Acrylic hand painted | 70 x 60 cm
This piece not only celebrates the Chinese New Year's symbol of power and resilience but also prompts reflection on the shifting global dynamics between East and West. The dragon's fierce gaze symbolizes the rising hegemony of China juxtaposed against the old American capitalist legacy. Through this intricate design, I invite viewers to contemplate the intersection of wealth, culture, and imagination, where myth merges with modern currency, creating a space for introspection and dialogue.
THE PRICE OF DEMOCRACY
2011 - Canvas 86 x 157cm | Mix Media real USD notes, Acrylic and varnish | (150 x 1$ running serial numbers)
Democracies are dead! Corrupted and losing their powers, Democracies are killing their sovereignty, scarifying people and societies to the reign of cash. This works depict a very pessimistic social and political situation where political science becomes a simple commodity.
ATOMIC GLITTERS
2018 - 70 x 50cm | Handmade glittering on vintage 1945 newspaper.
This art work embodies allegory on different levels...
The first one tends to question how "fancy" pop visuals can make the most horrible tragedy much more acceptable for younger generations, denouncing how with time we tend to fade out the horror of the past.
The second, more complex brings us toward the reality of this tragic moment of Human History, as if every glitters were burning victims of this technological progress. Which brings us to a much more contemporary and final thought about how, today's world, tend to present us the most deadly and toxic technologies to Human and Environment in a very fancy and attractive way. Bringing the audience to wonder "Am I also a glitter?"