The transformation of the intimate practice of drawing into the monumental scale of painting is an eminent feature of Robert Longo’s artistic practice. His work Untitled (Athena) (2019) strikes a balance between the intensely personal and the socially charged, reflecting the world we live in today.

Robert Rauschenberg’s work Honk (Borealis) (1990) is inspired by the Aurora Borealis or so-called Northern Lights, which the artist had experienced during his travels, illuminated by silk-screening his photographic images onto monumental sheets of copper and stainless steel. A comprehensive exhibition of Rauschenberg’s Borealis series (1988-92) will be held in our Salzburg gallery in April, following the artist’s recent exhibition at LACMA.

With his signature monochromatic palette, energetic brushstrokes and his interest in the representation of power and authority, Yan Pei-Ming’s Napoleon, Crowning Himself Emperor / L'Empereur Napoléon Ier se couronnant lui-même, (2017) references Jacques-Louis David’s famous scene of The Coronation of Napoleon at Notre-Dame in Paris in 1804.

The Cigarettes count amongst Irving Penn’s most iconic photographic achievements. In 1972 Penn began collecting decaying cigarette butts from the city’s streets and carefully recording them. By creating these minimalist compositions, he transformed one of the most widely consumed and discarded products of consumer society into a symbolic representation of contemporary culture.