New show opens with a ‘PoP’ on La Brea Avenue
Mr Brainwash, AKA Thierry Guetta has rented out a five-story building, in an abandoned industrial complex with over 80,000 square feet, on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood, to exhibit his latest work. The preview held on 22 December had over 1000 invited guests with the first 300 receiving an original work of art for free. The public opening on Christmas day attracted around 1,500. The short-run show continues until 29th December. It is his largest US exhibition since his 2008,“Life Is Beautiful” show, that was featured in the Banksy documentary. On display are several large scaled sculptures including a Polaroid camera and a Mr. Potato Head as well as rock related imagery which adorns the walls. The empty factory space, with sprawling rooms, cavernous floors and ceilings sets the tone for the work, in an urban context. Some of the larger works include a huge painting of John Lennon and Yoko Ono stating ‘Art Is All Over” a play on the billboard that they sponsored in Times Square stating “War Is Over” ‘if you want it’. (see photo) David Bowie and Kate Moss are also depicted . One of the other rooms is filled with a huge boom box sculpture and a sculpture of the Greek God Poseidon rolling paint on the floor greets the guests at the entrance of the show. “It’s not about selling art,” Guetta said. “If I can inspire just one person to follow his dreams, then I will be happy.”
In June 2008, Mr. Brainwash made his art show debut with one of Los Angeles’s most memorable solo exhibitions; Life is Beautiful, held at the historic CBS Studios on Sunset Boulevard. In addition to his widely recognized images, Life is Beautiful featured larger than life installations which included a 20-foot robot made of old televisions, a life-size recreation of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks and a pyramid made from 20,000 books. Originally scheduled to open for only two weeks, the exhibit was extended for three months, attracting more than 30,000 visitors. Mr. Brainwash’s work continued to garner recognition from art collectors and street-art enthusiasts alike. By 2009, Madonna approached him to design the cover of her greatest hits compilation entitled, Celebration. In addition to the CD album, Mr. Brainwash created 15 different covers for the accompanying vinyls, singles and DVD releases.
Thierry is not really an artist as such, but a master of pastiche. His work resembles other artists work and he has no real identity of its own. If he were in a band it would be like sampling other peoples records and assembling them into a new track. His work is executed in a studio factory with a team of young art students creating much of the physical work. Like Hirst and Koons Guetta’s work is reasonably well crafted but it still lacks the soul of a true artist. Many of his ideas come from art books. Read More About Mr Brainwash here