1001 PAINTINGS 22 TO 26

“022”

2005

180 x 110 cm, oil

private collection, Basel

In ancient China, red was the symbol of fire and the south, and is one of the main five classical colors.In Chinese symbolism, red is the color of good luck and success, and is used for decoration and wedding attire (during the traditional half of the wedding ceremony, while the bridal attire in the modern half is usually white). Money in Chinese societies is traditionally given in red packets. Stock market gains in China and other East Asian countries are displayed in red, while losses are displayed in green...

“023”

2005

200 x 200 cm, oil

private collection, New York

Although Fendi produces a ready-to-wear sports line, the name is best known for its dramatic fur collections, which have been designed by Karl Lagerfeld since 1962. It has been the company’s relationship with Lagerfeld that brought the Fendi name to the attention of the fashion press. Lagerfeld was also responsible for designing the double-F griffe that is almost as well recognized among the fashion cognoscenti as the double-C and double-G symbols of Chanel and Gucci.

Lagerfeld’s innovative treatment of fur was both witty and, at times, shocking and has kept the Fendi company at the forefront of this field. In Lagerfeld’s capable hands, real fur took on the appearance of fake fur; having been perforated with thousands of tiny holes to make the coats lighter to wear and printed to look like damask and other similar fabrics. Denim coats have been lined with mink by Lagerfeld, who also employed unorthodox animal skins such as squirrel and ferret in his creations. More recently, Lagerfeld covered an entire fur coat with woven mesh and created completely reversible fur coats as his stand against the antifur movement, which created great problems for the trade. Another design he produced for autumn-winter 1993-94 consisted of a small zipped bag that unfolded into a calf-length fur coat.

In Italy, fur sales have continued to constitute a major part of the company’s business—where the Fendi sisters claim to have changed the age-old tradition of fur as being a status symbol to being a covetable high-fashion garment.

“024”

2004

170x 120 cm, oil

M-Ars Gallery, Vienna

Mexico´s Green Revolution began in 1943 with the establishment of the Office of Special Studies, which was a venture that was a collaboration between the Rockefeller Foundation and the presidential administration of Manuel Avila Camacho in Mexico. While Camacho’s predecessor Cárdenas promoted peasant subsistence agriculture through policies of land reform, Avila Camacho’s primary goal for Mexican agriculture was to aid in the nation’s industrial development and economic growth. US Vice President Henry Wallace, who was instrumental in convincing the Rockefeller Foundation to work with the Mexican government in agricultural development, saw Camacho’s ambitions as beneficial to U.S. economic and military interests.

J. George Harrar, who would later become president of the Rockefeller Foundation, headed the Office of Special Studies. Its lead scientists included Norman Borlaug, Edwin Wellhausen, and William Colwell. Researchers from both the United States and Mexico were involved in this program. The main initiative of the Office was the development of high-yielding maize and wheat varieties. Borlaug received the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on wheat breeding.

The Mexican national government invested heavily in rural infrastructure development, and the adoption of new seed varieties became widespread. Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat production by 1951 and began to export wheat thereafter...

“025”

2004

120 x 180 cm, oil

work in progress

With its roots in the subcultures of “Pachucoism” and the “Cholo” image, the popular culture of lowriding has been present since the early 1950’s. “Pachucos” refer to Mexican American youth in the 1940’s known for wearing zoot suits with broad shoulders and baggy pants that were tied at the ankle. They were referred to as “Zoot Suiters,” a term that came to be associated with “hoodlum” by media sensationalism. Cholos were the next generation of Mexican Americans with a distinctive way of dressing, including neatly pressed baggy khakis wom with T-shirts. These two subcultures are the results of a cultural hybridization of the Mexican and American cultures...

“026”

2004

320 x 170cm, oil

Gallery Kroupa, Vienna

Not only used as a means of transportation, lowriders have used their vehicles to voice their opinions on several issues. Some themes are religious: the Virgin of Guadalupe and roses symbolic of her, a suffering Christ figure, and lowriders cruising beneath the outstretched arms of the Virgin of Guadalupe (entitled “Cruising Together”). Others are representative of pride in the Mestizo race: ‘La Indita” (Mexican Indian girl). an Aztec princess, or an Aztec warrior with an Indian maiden in his arms. Other important themes reflect pride in Mexico’s history: Mexican revolutionary soldiers, famous Mexican heroes (Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata), and a Mexican Charra (cowgirl) with sombrero...