Wilhelm Sasnal
Girl Smoking (Dominika)
2001, Oil on Canvas
33 x 33cm |
Sasnal's
portraits of women explore modern concepts of beauty and representation.
The pop star Peaches is given a degenerate Warhol glam; Anka,
the alabaster sophistication of Katz. Dominika, painted in
greyscale, has the allure of outdated photography suggestive
of distinctively Eastern European chic.
Sasnal approaches feminine idealism as a construct of fashion.
It's not the physicality of the women themselves, but rather
the style with which they're represented. Each rendered in
a manner associated with a specific time and place, Sasnal's
portraits aren't classical icons, but models defined by their
own sell-by dates. All pictured smoking a cigarette, Sasnal
alludes to the slow self-destruction of their beauty. |