An enormous patchwork octopus, a soft fence and a giant fabric mushroom all dwell in the world of offbeat artist Cosima von Bonin. After a ’25 year-long apprenticeship in art making’, the artist is presenting a retrospective survey of installations, sculptures and drawings from the past 15 years, in her seventh solo show at New York’s Petzel Gallery.
The Kenyan-born installation and sculpture artist presents an art of counteraction. Her deep-seated distrust of the ‘professional artist’ threads through her work, and can be heard quite clearly in her discourse. ‘I steal from everyone,’ she said wryly in a video interview in 2014.
Her creative impulse, she claims, comes from the space around her: it originates from urban tales and studio assistants, as well as from nature and her own thoughts. Openly admitting to this distrust allows her to poke a little fun at the authority bestowed upon ‘professional artists’. Her art, she insists, is a collaborative project.
As a retrospective, the work in this exhibition is typically and predictably playful. A traditional urban gas lamp is turned white and given a little arm which holds onto a neon, smoke emitting cigarette in smoke 2008/2011 (cvb & michel wuerthle). In Total Produce, from 2010, von Bonin creates a patchwork, foam filled octopus. Its giant legs are outstretched, as though it is presenting itself proudly on its pedestal, fully welcoming passing admiration.
This is a fun and playful collection, that offers a raised eyebrow to the art establishment.
Cosima von Bonin: CvB Singles Uptown Remix is showing at Petzel Gallery until 31 October
