Andrew Cotton

"The Basquiat", mixed media split portrait series

2020

Gold & Despair is my adaptation of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece "The Woman In Gold", also known as The Mona Lisa of Austria. Having admired the symbolic art of Klimt since my working days as a fine art restorer at Vienna’s prestigious Conservation Institute (Bundesdenkmalamt) in the 1980’s, I conceived the idea to recreate the jewel of his gilded period with an interpretive lens on the looming darkness of the Holocaust and World War II. As a native of Austria, Salzburg, I have developed an appreciation for Klimt’s art, and Art Nouveau in general. For the last thirty years, I have lived in New York City and worked as a fine art restorer, conservator, and painter as well as in the healing arts. Klimt had executed The Woman in Gold in the span of four years (1903-1907). My own creative process during 2014-2017, reflects my diligent care and thoroughness in rendering the original painting. In 2014, I started with the preparation of the canvas using Klimt’s original size of 54 x 54 inches (167 x 167 cm). For gesso, I used the traditional method of rabbit skin glue and chalk. For the painting, I used oil paints and genuine 23.5 karat gold in various shades, as well as silver leaves, to magnify the brilliant sheen of Klimt’s gold...

In my appropriation of Henri Rousseau's painting "The Dream," I replaced his nude reclining on the couch with my sister Leanna. I envisioned her magically transported into a lush ju...