Image above: Yasumasa Morimura, Las Meninas renacen de noche V: Drawn by a distant light, awaken to the darkness, 2013 © Yasumasa Morimura; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Luhring Augustine is pleased to present Las Meninas Renacen de Noche (Las Meninas Reborn in the Night), a recent body of photographs by Yasumasa Morimura. In these self-portraits, the artist reimagines Diego Velázquez’s 1656 Las Meninas by assuming the role of each character in the renowned work. Morimura photographed Velázquez’s painting in situ at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, using the museum as a stage for his study.
Morimura has been working as a conceptual photographer and filmmaker for more than three decades. Through extensive use of props, costumes, makeup, and digital manipulation, the artist masterfully transforms himself into recognizable subjects, often from the Western cultural canon. Morimura has based works on seminal paintings by Édouard Manet, Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, and he also uses images culled from historical materials, mass media, and popular culture in his practice. His reinvention of iconic photographs and art historical masterpieces challenges the viewer’s common associations with the subjects while also commenting on Japan's complex relationship with and absorption of Western culture.
Yasumasa Morimura,(Left)Living in the realm of the painting (The kneeling maid of honor), 2013 ;(Right) Living in the realm of the painting (The leaning maid of honor), 2013 © Yasumasa Morimura; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Yasumasa Morimura, Las Meninas renacen de noche IV: Peering at the secret scene behind the artist, 2013 © Yasumasa Morimura; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Yasumasa Morimura, (Left) Living in the realm of the painting (Nicolasillo treading upon books), 2013 ;(Right) Living in the realm of the painting (The king), 2013 © Yasumasa Morimura; Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
Gallery Opening Images by Patricia Koo
