Skarstedt Fine Art is pleased to present selections from Jim Shaw’s “My Mirage 1986-91”.
“My Mirage”, a series built over five years, consists of approximately 170 paintings, drawings and objects. Jim Shaw created a chronological narrative based around a central character, Billy, a white middle-class suburban boy growing up in post-war America. Commonly referred to as “The Billy Paintings”, the story covers his life through five chapters divided by events and experiences that range from an idealistic youth to the musings of a drugged-out cult member to his final resurrection as a born-again Christian.
In these works, all sized 17 x 14 inches, Jim Shaw uses varying styles and techniques to characterize Billy’s identity. The works can demonstrate his mental projections, his desires, and his understanding of the world and the people in it at each given moment of the story. Shaw draws from numerous pop-culture sources including comics, movies, music, and period memorabilia. “My Mirage” is ultimately a psychological journey into the mind of a boy/man who embodies the rapid and overwhelming changes that wash over the youth of post 1950’s America. It is a story of a quest for innocence and meaning told in a manic and prosaic form on a massive scale that successfully demonstrates both the artist’s vision and technical abilities.
Jim Shaw has had one-person shows at the Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland (2004); Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France (2003); The Swiss Institute, New York (2002); CCAC Institute, San Francisco (2001); ICA, London (2000); The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2000); MAMCO Musee d’Art Moderne et Contrmporain, Geneva (2000); Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (1998). Jim Shaw’s work has also been exhibited in many group shows including “100 Artist See God” and “100 Artists See Satan” organized by the Independent Curators International (2004).
For further information, please contact +1 212 737 2060 or info@skarstedt.com
“My Mirage”, a series built over five years, consists of approximately 170 paintings, drawings and objects. Jim Shaw created a chronological narrative based around a central character, Billy, a white middle-class suburban boy growing up in post-war America. Commonly referred to as “The Billy Paintings”, the story covers his life through five chapters divided by events and experiences that range from an idealistic youth to the musings of a drugged-out cult member to his final resurrection as a born-again Christian.
In these works, all sized 17 x 14 inches, Jim Shaw uses varying styles and techniques to characterize Billy’s identity. The works can demonstrate his mental projections, his desires, and his understanding of the world and the people in it at each given moment of the story. Shaw draws from numerous pop-culture sources including comics, movies, music, and period memorabilia. “My Mirage” is ultimately a psychological journey into the mind of a boy/man who embodies the rapid and overwhelming changes that wash over the youth of post 1950’s America. It is a story of a quest for innocence and meaning told in a manic and prosaic form on a massive scale that successfully demonstrates both the artist’s vision and technical abilities.
Jim Shaw has had one-person shows at the Kunsthaus Glarus, Switzerland (2004); Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France (2003); The Swiss Institute, New York (2002); CCAC Institute, San Francisco (2001); ICA, London (2000); The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati (2000); MAMCO Musee d’Art Moderne et Contrmporain, Geneva (2000); Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (1998). Jim Shaw’s work has also been exhibited in many group shows including “100 Artist See God” and “100 Artists See Satan” organized by the Independent Curators International (2004).
For further information, please contact +1 212 737 2060 or info@skarstedt.com