In “The Art Freaks,” Olaf Breuning combines painting, photography, and art history in entertaining ways (photo courtesy Olaf Breuning / Metro Pictures)
Metro Pictures
519 West 24th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through October 29, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-206-7100
www.metropicturesgallery.com
For his latest show at Metro Pictures, New York-based Swiss artist Olaf Breuning has taken large-scale photographs (74 3/8 x 34 1/8 inches) of nearly two dozen models who have been painted in the style of some of the most famous and important artists of the twentieth century. In “The Art Freaks,” Breuning re-creates iconic works on the naked bodies of men and women, honoring such seminal figures as Edvard Munch, Yves Tanguy, Joseph Cornell, Frida Kahlo, Piet Mondrian, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, Andy Warhol, On Kawara, Jackson Pollock, and others. As always with Breuning’s work, his playful sense of humor shines through as he gives a unique art history lesson; we strongly suggest you first walk through the upstairs gallery space trying to identify the referenced artists yourself before confirming it by checking the photos’ titles.