Allegra LaViola Gallery in New York City displayed Andrea Mary Marshall’s second solo exhibition: Gia Condo. From paintings to photographs, film-stills to video, her alter ego filters through diverse self-portraits; in this case explicitly inspired by the iconic portrait of Mona Lisa. By looking back at the history of art and combining various elements of the works of other great painters, she comes to terms with her identity as a female painter in the art world today. She duplicates the size, material, and composition of Leonardo Da Vinci’s original and creates her own piece with abundant variations and adaptations. Marshall draws inspiration from several artists ranging from Manet to Keith Haring, as she explores the so-called self-portrait of Leonardo in drag. She reveals herself to us through the Mona Lisa, transformed from one painting to the next.
In this body of work, she addresses many aspects of human nature; specifically, addressing the balance between masculine and feminine energies. Her works are inspired by pieces mainly created by male artists who manage to depict their muses in more empowered ways. Sexuality, women’s issues, religious iconography, and self-acceptance are very prominent in all of her works. The unconventional props that surround the sitter in every painting, in addition to the constant allusion to phallic figures, such as condoms and bananas, reveal the sexual nature of the paintings. The use of halos, pendants of the Virgin Mary, and crucifixes in several of the works exhibit images used by some of the major world religions. The female power and presence of Gia Condo in the 13 paintings that comprise her exhibition expose the multifaceted nature of woman in society throughout history.
One of the paintings, “Self Portrait as Mona Donna,” is an appropriation of an appropriation. In 1650, Velazquez created the original painting of Pope Innocent X, and in 1953, Francis Bacon appropriated it in a grotesque and nightmarish tone. Now, Marshall keeps the screaming image, but makes the Pope a nun—consistent with her representation of the masculine-feminine dichotomy. She remains faithful to Bacon’s opaque tones to give a sense of gruesomeness. The decaying meat in the background, in addition to the almost demonic teeth of the sitter, gives a sense of discomfort.
The convergence of femininity and masculinity is addressed in each painting of the collection. In “Self Portrait as Moo-Na,” Andrea Mary Marshall draws inspiration from the works of Andy Warhol, such as his famous pink cow. She paints the sitter with four utters instead of two breasts and she draws dripping milk, which could also be allusive to drops of semen.
In “Self Portrait as Joan Francesca,” she makes reference to artists such as Julian Schnabel and Roy Lichtenstein. Marshall includes pieces of Lichtenstein’s work, including his famous quotes: “Ohhh… alright…” or “I love you too… but…”, and uses Schnabel’s technique of including broken plates in his paintings with a broken plate as a halo around the sitter’s head. She includes ashes on the sitter’s forehead, symbolic of Ash Wednesday, and depicts an illustration of Jesus right below her neck. Marshall makes the sitter appear to be crying with lipstick smeared over her lips, referencing the misconception of Mary Magdalene as a penitent whore.
This entire collection is visually dazzling and emotionally rich, paying homage to several outstanding artists. It brings out questions about duality, sexuality, beauty, pleasure, and entertainment in human beings. By playing with different theories surrounding the iconic portrait of Mona Lisa, Marshall is able to create a meaningful work that has historical significance through its inclusion of different inspirational artworks, political significance through its pertinence to gender roles throughout historical eras, and social relevance through its portrayal of the female’s ever-adapting image, responsibilities, and lifestyles.
- Andrea Salgado
