Paul McCarthy (b. 1945). Queen's on the Queen's Head on a Table from Piccadilly Circus, 2003. C-print flush mounted ...

Description

Paul McCarthy (b. 1945)
Queen's on the Queen's Head on a Table from Piccadilly Circus, 2003
C-print flush mounted to aluminum
71-1/2 x 46-1/2 inches (181.6 x 118.1 cm) (sight)

PROVENANCE:
Hauser & Wirth, London;
Phillips, New York, March 8, 2013, lot 179;
Private collection, New York.

LITERATURE:
L. Blazwick and T. McEvilley, Paul McCarthy Head Shop/Shop Head: Works 1966-2006, London, 2008, p. 527, illustrated;
P. McCarthy and D. McCarthy,Piccadilly Circus, Hong Kong, 2004, p. 151, illustrated.

Paul McCarthy is a provocative American contemporary artist known for his boundary-pushing work across performance, sculpture, video, and installation. In Queen's on the Queen's Head on a Table, a large still from Piccadilly Circus, two figures close to the camera appear to be in a physical altercation across a tabletop. Articles of clothing have been lost, there are smeared textures, and strewn objects in soft focus are remnants of the struggle between them.
Piccadilly Circus (2003) was filmed in an unoccupied London bank in Piccadilly. Piccadilly Circus (2003) was filmed in an unoccupied London bank in Piccadilly. Performers, dressed as comical archetypes of notable leaders of the time, wore large puppet-like heads, appearing incompetent and childlike.


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