Antwerp City Collection

The installations of painter, sculptor, and performer Jonathan Meese (b. 1970, Tokyo, Japan) are like a gesamtkunstwerk. In his provocative performances, in which he often appears to play the role of a child or court jester, Meese argues in favour of a dictatorship of art in which politics, ideology and art itself become a game to eliminate taboos. Self-portrait is a common theme in his oeuvre. THE THIRD MAN’S SOLDIERS! (KNALLBONBONS “X”) —1— is a painted advertising column, tying in with Meese’s practice, which re-appropriates propaganda. Meese creates a layered personal mythology, larded with references to history and art, as well his struggles with his own ego.

Jonathan Meese is represented by Tim Van Laere Gallery.