Some call him a modern day genius, others disregard him for acts of plagiarism and deceit. Either way, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you… Turner prize 2000 nominee and general artistic bootlegging miscreant, Glenn Brown.
Unlike Brown’s exhibited works in Liverpool’s Tate Modern and the Fondayione Sandretto in Turin, the Ludwig exhibition has an added extra addition.
Comprising the largest selection of Brown’s work to date, it includes his so called “layered” drawings, in which he simply scribbles endlessly, perhaps for 20 minutes or so, onto portraits painted by Rembrandt, Lucian Freud and Urs Graf.
Structuring his whole back catalogue on adaptations and near carbon copies of others’ work, including Salvador Dalí and Tony Roberts, Brown’s constantly accused of fraud, plagiarism and possibly being uncreatively idle. He continues to debate, however, that he takes on a unique perspective adding a completely new meaning to each and every reprised work – even if he just enlarges the original.
Studying each canvas as if it were a window into the psyche and conscience of this eccentric but obviously troubled individual, I began to understand why these traditional yet contemporary pieces were on display. It wasn’t simply about the aesthetics of something nice to look at, as it very rarely is with art, but the moleculus, anal detail of each brush stroke. The choice of differentiating colors dancing around the canvas to make one complete ensemble of emotion.
Through April 11
Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art
1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1.
Tel.: +36.1.555.3444 MAP III. K6
Open: Tue-Sun, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
www.ludwigmuseum.hu