jean charles de castelbajac 'triumph of the sign' at paradise row

topkapital, 2008jean-charles de castelbajac ‘triumph of the sign’ at: paradise row, london from: 3 april – 2 may, 2009

paradise row is currently showing the latest artworks by french designer jean charles de castelbajac. throughout his career in fashion designer, castelbajac has employed a strategy of ‘cultural hijacking’ the appropriation, recycling and synthesis of images, signs, symbols and styles from both popular culture and high art to create still newer designs and visions.

post krieg, 2009

yves droite yves gauche, diptych, 2008

with ‘triumph of the sign’, castelbajac presents a series of paintings that articulate his fascination with, broadly, the tensions and synergies between high art and consumer culture, and most specifically that defining element of contemporary visual culture – the brand logo. castelbajac commissioned painters in china to perfectly reproduce a series of western masterpieces, from bronzino to manet, and another group to paint logos on the surfaces of the copied masterpieces. the resulting works ironically embrace a flattening of hierarchies, a breakdown of distinctions and an evacuation of content.

more information on the exhibit can be found here and there’s additional images and an interview with castelbajac over at dazed digital.