“LQueen Elizabeth is an icon and for me, who was born in England, she has always been a constant presence. Even today she is the symbol of stability. I wanted to imagine it punk in honor of the punk era in London and fashion at the same time because I use brands and logos as a comment on modern culture».
Endless, 38, is one of the leading exponents of English street art. For five years, four nights a week, for six hours, he painted murals illegally. Until he was noticed by art galleries. Taking flight towards contemporary art
With his face permanently covered by a black maskthe artist inaugurated his first solo show at the Salotto in Milan, The Icons in Milan, represented by the Cris Contini Contemporary gallery and curated by Simona Gervasio, while also presenting Endless Vol.1a voluminous paperback coffee table book of 260 illustrated pages.
The exhibition will remain visible until June 30th.
Endless, paintings listed at 35 thousand euros
His paintings are now cult objects, as Simona Gervasio explains. They have fine connections with Basquiat, with Warhol, with pop art, but the artist is not identifiable with anyone. Each work is listed at around 35,000 euros and his works will soon end up at auction.
In the exhibition, in addition to Queen Elizabeth in a fashion key with the logos of a well-known brand replaced by the initials Endless, there are many references to the most iconic perfume ever, renamed “Chapel”.
Queen Elizabeth is called “Lizzy Vuitton” and is now the iconic symbol par excellence and masterpiece of the artist.
«Chapel, on the other hand, refers to the fact that today people spend more time in shops than in church» he comments again. «But let’s be clear, I use brands and logos as a comment on modern culture and never as a criticism. I simply take what I see in the world and reconfigure it, to make sense, but not in a negative way.”
Endless in Milan: “Markle and the other royals don’t interest me”
“I’m not interested in portraying other British royals. Meghan is perhaps the most controversial, but I would enter into a political scheme that does not interest me. My work is done by Others? Not really other the queen is the icon. Markle doesn’t interest me, the most interesting if anything is Princess Margaret.’
In recent years, the artist has seen his notoriety grow by becoming the first street artist to be part of the permanent collection of Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence, now exhibiting 22 of his most iconic works, which retrace the key themes of his artistic language.
Chapel, symbol of consumerism
The exhibition therefore chronologically retraces works such as the famous “Chapel”, an iconographic symbol of the sacred place of consumerism, the “Worships” – adoration – of the new iconic goddesses of fashion like Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell.
And “Endless Transfiguration” the representation of men and women presented to the international public on the occasion of the artist’s participation in the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia as the first street artist in a national pavilion.
Much of his work focuses on portraying key elements of today’s society, covering aspects such as the “brand cult”, advertising, consumerism and celebrity culture.
In addition to the streets of London, his works can be viewed in the London gallery Cris Contini Contemporary.
Endless The Icons
Info: 24 May – 30 June 2023
The living room of Milan
Corso Venezia 7, 20121 Milan, Italy
Hours: Monday – Friday 10.00 – 18.00
Free entry
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