You walk into and you immedietally feel like in one of the New York art galleries. Minimalistic, super geomertic interior with snow white walls and concrete floor brings colorful art of Horowitz to life.
The first, quite long and narrow room, has two MASSIVE pieces hanged in front of each other. The two works are titled Coke/Pepsi Diptych and each one presents an expansice grid of drinks, cans and bottles. Horowitz creates the impression of a pluralist utopia of free choice, however this motiv is belied by the knowledge that the two drinks conglomerates own all the products shown - one pannel consists of Pepsi products, the other of Coke products.
The central element of Jonathan's current show is a 4 segment film Transfer of Power (Gucci Soul), which is a juxtaposition of four popular cideos, which reflect the complex relation between branding, power, politics, popularity and appropriation. The first video shows a Gucci fashion show at Westminster Abbey from 2016, which was widely criticised for its exclusive use of white models. Another segment depicts Gucci's fashion video for the same year, which features an all-black cast dancing to Frankie Valli's The Night in Gucci outfits. The main fragment of the video is footage presenting Kellyann Conway - Donald Trump's confidant and advisor - on the day of the president's inaguration. She is wearing a Gucci coat (which was firstly presented at the 2016 fashion show) as she walks throgh the corridors of Capitol. In this way, Horowitz stars a premis of 'Trump; as a pseudo luxury brand and some say that Conway's outfit was actually a non-intentioanl, comic accident resulting from the presence of a Gucci store at Trump Tower. Therefore, the artist makes a statement that the power of Trump is like a power of a designer brand. The video is completed by a fourth segment, which shows fragments of Beyonce and Jay Z's music video to APE SH*T where the two stars are filmed in Louvre wearing Gucci clothes. Highlighting the close interplay of mass culture, power, fashion and politics Horowitz points out to the larger social/ historical realities that predetermine it and its close relationship.
Watch a fragment of Transfer of Power, which is Gucci's 2016 fashion video below and make sure to visit Sadie Coles to see the whole 4 channel film and what else is there at the exhibition. Promise you won't be disappointed.
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