Jonathan MEESE Volksgrossmeister Dr Erwin de Meese 1974 auch Doc Strulla - 2003 Oil on canvas Signed, titled and dated on the back 119.50 × 100 cm Oil on canvas; signed, titled and dated on the reverse 47.05 × 39.37 in. Source : Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris Acquired directly from the latter by the current owner Exhibitions : Paris, Porte de Versailles, Fiac, Stand Galerie Daniel Templon, 9-13 October 2003 Jonathan MEESE Often described as a provocateur, Jonathan Meese has been making a name for himself since 1998, thanks to his spectacular performances and installations. Fascinated by the "cultural debris" of a society over-consuming images, Jonathan Meese accumulates everyday objects, mannequins, posters from the 70s, graffiti, writings and photos in his labyrinthine installations. Objects found at flea markets or in the street, images borrowed from films or old magazines, everything is integrated into spaces where the artist himself puts on a show. Since 1998, his eclectic imagery has continued to expand: from Wagner and Bacon to Yves Saint Laurent, Ezra Pound, Björk, the films of Stanley Kubrick, Stalin, Godzilla and Heidegger. The artist himself is constantly creating new hybrid identities: Dr. Cyclops (hero of a 1940s film), Batlhysmeese (inspired by the painter Balthus), the Van Gogh of 1924 or Lautréamont's Maldoror. The artist declares: "I exhume in order to consume; my body is the reactor of an immense experiment in recycling the waste of a polluted world and intoxicated images". Jonathan Meese's canvases are a reflection of his installations. Covered in thick layers of oil paint, they combine all kinds of disturbing icons, dictators, superheroes and vampires, in chaotic, flamboyant compositions. The artist himself, fascinated by self-portraits, often depicts himself in the distorted guise of real or fictional heroes, creating a strange mythology around his own persona. Jonathan Meese tries to produce what he calls "paintings of the state", which accumulate symbols of power (the German iron cross, the insignia of the pharaohs, etc.) and thus develop a reflection on power, the individual, and the possibility of regeneration through painting. In Galerie Templon, Jonathan Meese "L'Amour, 2002-2003 Often described as a provocateur, Jonathan Meese has been making a name for himself since 1998, thanks to his spectacular performances and installations. Fascinated by the 'cultural debris' of a society over-consuming images, Jonathan Meese accumulates everyday objects, mannequins, posters from the 70s, graffiti, writings and photos in his labyrinthine installations. Objects found at flea markets or in the street, images borrowed from films or old magazines - everything is integrated into spaces where the artist himself puts on a show. Since 1998, his eclectic imagery has continued to expand: from Wagner and Bacon to Yves Saint Laurent, Ezra Pound, Björk, the films of Stanley Kubrick, Stalin, Godzilla and Heidegger. The artist himself is constantly creating new hybrid identities: Dr. Cyclops (hero of a 1940s film), Batlhysmeese (inspired by the painter Balthus), the Van Gogh of 1924 or Lautréamont's Maldoror. The artist declares: 'I exhume in order to consume; my body is the reactor of an immense experiment in recycling the waste of a polluted world and intoxicated images'. Jonathan Meese's canvases are a reflection of his installations. Covered in thick layers of oil paint, they combine all kinds of disturbing icons, dictators, superheroes and vampires, in chaotic, flamboyant compositions. The artist himself, fascinated by self-portraits, often depicts himself in the distorted guise of real or fictional heroes, creating a strange mythology around his own persona. Jonathan Meese tries to produce what he calls 'paintings of the state', which accumulate symbols of power (the German iron cross, the insignia of the pharaohs, etc.) and thus develop a reflection on power, the individual, and the possibility of regeneration through painting. In Galerie Templon, Jonathan Meese "L'Amour, 2002-2003