Eric Doeringer, The 'Bootleg' series
When reading about a famous forgery case, who among us hasn't thought, for at least a second or two, that it would be nice to get our hands on a really good replica of a coveted painting regardless of whose hand really put the paint down on the canvas?
For years, Boston-born and Brooklyn-based artist Eric Doeringer has been establishing himself as a New York art lover's Fairy Godmother by granting poor gallery goers' wishes for affordable little canvases of images made by their favorite art stars. Doeringer sells his 'Bootlegs' series outside hot Chelsea galleries, inside international art fairs and at glitzy exhibitions such as the Whitney Biennial. In an unlimited edition assembly line process, he produces his small-souvenir scale versions of well-known paintings, sculptures, collages, drawings and works in other media by more than a hundred contemporary artists. He then displays his array of pirate booty art in piles at stalls that stimulate the same greedy day-dreaming desires as stands stacked with fake Prada purses and phoney Louis Vuitton sunglasses.
Doeringer's "paintings" are created with a combination of collage and acrylic paint, giving his canvases the cleverly convincing tactile appearance of an original object, not a reproduction. A Doeringer of an Elizabeth Peyton, Julian Opie, Richard Prince, or Yoshitomo Nara might suitably impress your guests, enable you to fulfill a fantasy by posing as a major collector and, late at night, in dark light, let you imagine that you have discovered that you actually have a priceless work of art hanging on your wall - when in reality you have acquired a clever and uniquely insightful piece of creative commentary on our culture's commoditization of art.
To see more of Eric Doeringer's work on his Your Gallery profile page click here. You can also visit Eric Doeringer's own website: www.ericdoeringer.com.
Ana Finel Honigman
ANA FINEL HONIGMAN is a critic, PhD candidate in art history at Oxford University and Senior London Correspondent for the Saatchi Gallery's online magazine.
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