Martine Gutierrez Explores Gender, Race and Cult Symbols in "ANTI-ICON: APOKALYPSIS"
A three-part exhibition taking over San Francisco, New York and London.
Martine Gutierrez is set to take over Fraenkel Gallery (San Francisco), RYAN LEE Gallery (New York) and Josh Lilley (London) to present “ANTI-ICON: APOKALYPSIS,” a thought-provoking three-part exhibition that delves into the complex realms of gender, race and stardom. This ambitious project gained a devoted following after being commissioned by the Public Art Fund in 2021 and exhibited on bus shelters typically reserved for advertising.
The showcase prompts us to ponder the meaning of an icon, a cult symbol and what an image truly represents. Gutierrez ponders, “What imbues a symbol with power? Culture is the political force of history, a swinging pendulum of dominance.” The transdisciplinary artist explores these concepts across 17 groundbreaking new works, wherein she metamorphoses herself into a multitude of revered figures. Her attention to a diverse array of radical heroines from art history and popular culture — such as Aphrodite, Gabriel, Judith, Helen of Troy or Lady Godiva — sheds light on their legendary cultural influence spanning thousands of years.
With minimalistic costuming, Gutierrez’s own figure becomes the catalyst, casting a dystopian futuristic lens upon the symbols of our past. Each transformation serves as a vehicle for questioning patriarchal language, a determinative framework that she describes as “a divisional boundary of womanhood, a categorization of the icon, a spiritual reality in mass production. The same face of currency made over and over again.”
Martine Gutierrez’s show at Fraenkel Gallery will open to the public on May 24 and run until July 15. Polygon Gallery in Vancouver will organize the traveling museum exhibition of all 17 of the works next year. Accompanying the three-gallery exhibition is a new artist book titled APOKALYPSIS, published by RYAN LEE.
For a sneak peek at the captivating images showcased at Fraenkel Gallery, take a look at the slide above.
Fraenkel Gallery
49 Geary Street
San Francisco
