Alexandra Kleiman
The photographer, painter, and occasional advertisement-designer Marilyn Minter has just added another title to her roster. She’s curating “The Virgin Show” at Maurizio Cattelan and Massimiliano Gioni’s new extension of the Wrong Gallery sans Ali Subotnik—Family Business, also in Chelsea. Yes, this means Cattelan will not be withdrawing from the art world after all come the close of his show at the Guggenheim next week.
Cattelan and Gioni describe the space as the “big brother of the Wrong Gallery … a guest house … a time share … a non-for-profit space open to experimentation and irreverent exhibition formats … a guest + a host = a ghost.” The gallery’s inaugural show, opening at some yet-to-be-determined point in February, promises to be just as obscure.
“The Virgin Show” will feature only artists who have never shown before, and as Minter put it, who are likely still virgins, like herself. The latter bit seems like it might be a stretch, unless she’s speaking metaphorically about a personal rebirth or something.
Minter experienced years of chastisement from the art world during the ‘80s and ‘90s, her fashion- and pornography-inspired photographs and paintings initially read as undoing the accomplishments of feminist artists in the 1970s. The artist describes herself as having emerged from these criticisms a stronger artist, which indeed seems to be the case in light of her popularity in recent years.
Her skill as a photo realist, or “photo-replacer” as she prefers it, is exceptional. Whether you love or hate (or love to hate) her work, Minter’s position of both interrogating and celebrating sexualized glamor remains topical. Take a look, below.
Marilyn Minter, Gold Tip, 2009. Courtesy Salon 94.
Marilyn Minter, Gimme, 2008. Courtesy Studio 94.
Marilyn Minter, Frostbite, 2006. Courtesy Salon 94.
Marilyn Minter, Cheshire (Wangechi), 2011. Courtesy Salon 94.
