I am a huge fan of Maurizio Cattelan. His clever, witty, tongue-in-cheek works of art always grab my attention and his Toilet Paper Magazine is possibly my favourite magazine currently in print, so when I heard about his show with Lucio Fontana at Gagosian I just had to take a look.
The exhibition puts one work each from Cattelan and Fontana into dialogue with one another. A large, cotton candy coloured egg is displayed high up on the walls at one end of the gallery. This piece by Fontana has large slashes in it and serves as a point of focus for Cattelan’s piece. Cattelan has contributed to the exhibition with the kneeling figure of Hitler. The interaction between the two is completely bizarre. I shared a smile with the security guard as I walked between the two works as it does not seem to make sense – it is absurd, it probably should offend, but it doesn’t.
From behind, Hitler could be a young boy, mesmerised by the pink egg. He looks like he is praying to some kind of shrine and seems to be poking fun at something, though I have not figured out what.
The show is certainly different, and may not be for everyone but it is certainly memorable.
La fine de Dio: Maurizio Cattelan and Lucio Fontana is on display at Gagosian, Davies Street until 5 April