Kepa Garraza
Model for statue 3 (gold)
2023

About the Item

Artwork that forms part of the New Monumentalism from the bask artist Kepa Garraza. With ‘Nuevo monumentalismo’, Kepa Garraza proposes a critical and reflexive vision of the role and function of the public monument, also inviting us to explore the relationship between art, power and propaganda. The artist creates fictitious alternatives to the monumental statues that we usually find in public spaces, as a kind of "substitution game". His creative process begins with digital 3D modelling to generate these sculptures, allowing the artist to play with scale, texture, lighting and finish. Kepa then contextualises the imaginary sculptures by introducing them into famous public monuments of monarchs, military men and leaders. In this way, he replaces these characters and places his creations in their place, while leaving the other structures of the original monument intact. Also part of this series is a group of works that function as a preparatory study in which the sculptures appear against a black background, highly contrasted, generating great drama. With them, the artist tries out various solutions with regard to their lighting and finish. With this new project, Kepa Garraza seeks to generate dystopian stories about the representation of authority and power, since the invented images are not presented as a real or desirable alternative. ‘Nuevo monumentalismo’ makes us reflect not only on the function of the public monument in relation to power and violence, but also on the symbolism used in the representation of any kind of authority.

Creator:

Kepa Garraza (1979, Spanish)

Creation Year:

2023

Dimensions:

Height: 78.75 in (200 cm)Width: 94.49 in (240 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)

Medium:

Oil

Movement & Style:

Realist

Period:

2010-