The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga (aka CAC Málaga) has increasingly included urban art in its program, starting with projects in the streets. In 2014, the museum invited D*Face and Shepard Fairey to paint two massive side by side murals. The pair returned to CAC Málaga on June 26th to present two adjoining exhibitions. Notably, D*Face’s “Wasted Youth” marks his first major solo museum debut in Spain. Growing up, the British artist felt stifled by the curriculum set forth by his parents and schooling, which considered anything outside the norm to be a waste of his youth. 15 years into his career, the artist looks backs with this exhibition as if to proclaim the value of following your passions.
D*Face poses with a portion of his installation at CAC Málaga in Spain.
His exhibit features a retrospective and 39 new works spanning silkscreens, framed stencils, paintings and sculptures – including a larger than life skeletal puppet. D*Face has not shyed away from heavier political themes in recent months. He has described his new work as being slightly aggressive, but softened with humor, and erring on the side of war and destruction as in his portraits of soldiers and zombie-fied pilots. They are an extension of his macabre, punk portraits of celebrities, like Marylin Monroe and Michael Jackson, and comic book superheroes. “De-faced”, they convey the artist’s fascination with celebrity, fame, consumerism, death and immortality. The artist hopes such imagery will encourage us to look more closely at what surrounds us in our lives and reconsider our cultural figures, while commenting on our consumption of them.
“Wasted Youth” by D*Face is now on view at CAC Málaga in spain through September 27th, 2015.
All images courtesy D*Face and Obey.