“with its intoxicatingly sensual riot of colours, the large format creates a compelling ‘con-stellation’ with an ensemble of torsos belonging to size zero (xxs) shop-window dummies.
a phalanx of extremely scrawny figures, completely identical apart from differently coloured bathing suits, deliberately flaunts itself and thus represents a grotesque pseudo-ideal of beauty that believes it has an affinity with the potency of circe but is in fact exposed as wretched, in contrast to the sensual, expressive painting.
vera christians has used this comparison to tackle a contemporary taboo subject: the collectivisation, standardisation and, consequently, de-sensualisation of the female body.”
quotation: helmut kesberg, president of frechen art association, in his opening speech for the “circe” exhibition in lünen städtische galerie 2009. the work of art was donated to the josé-carreras leukaemia foundation in 2010 and bought by the company bruno banani as part of the “BMW art calendar 2010″ charity project.
