Friedrichs Pontone is delighted to present The Fight Between Carnival and Lent, a group exhibition that pays homage to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's legendary 1559 painting of the same title.
The show celebrates the painting style known as the "Wimmelbild," the classical panoramic compositions Pieter Bruegel the Elder and his mentor Hieronymus Bosch both mastered. Similar to the Dutch masterwork, the curation is a celebration of the diversity and duality in society, specifically the duality of the art landscape. Featuring works by eleven artists from five countries with different backgrounds and disciplines, the floor plan is a wimmelbild in its own right. The exhibition, portraying antithetical themes, could be perceived as two separate bodies of works. Representing Lent is the top floor gallery, approaching topics with color, formality, and control. Harshly diverging from Lent is the downstairs gallery, or rather the Carnival, being dark, indulgent, and expressionistic.
The top floor gallery represents Lent through a minimal and light approach. In Bruegel's painting, Lent is personified as a woman dressed in grey. She is on the side of the church, representing purity within the Flemish town. Lady Lent, as she is called, raises a bread peel holding herrings, ready to joust the personified Carnival. Her demeanor is calm in comparison to her actions.
Downstairs, representing Carnival, is more dark and eloquent, creating two contrasting groups, like the Bruegel painting. Breugel personifies Carnival as a prince straddled atop a beer barrel. Holding a spear stabbed with various meats, he prepares to joust Lady Lent. Prince Carnival is coming from the side of the painting with the bar to symbolize the dark underbelly of the town.
Featuring works by:
Joseph Buckley
Alayna Coverly
Maia Del Estal
Alannah Farrell
Nate Flagg
Emily Harter
Taylor Ashby Hawkins
Katinka Huang
Luke Libera Moore
Joseph Parra
Anastasiya Tarasenko
