Venice Head Cave II

Courtesy of the artist, Banca March and Xavier Hufkens Gallery.
© Photography: Pablo Gómez-Ogando.

Venice Head (Cave II)

2010.
Tuf-cal, hemp, iron rebar, wood.
137.2 x 96.5 x 127 cm / 54 x 38 x 50 in.
(HOUS26112).

The heads on pedestals form an ongoing series in the artist’s practice. They refer to the tradition of marble and bronze portraiture that endured from the Classical age to modern times. Rather than celebrating famous figures, Houseago’s heads explore the human condition through abstracted features.

Classical Head evokes Cycladic idols; Rock Head, the mythical figure of the Cyclops; and Venice Head, with its open eye, suggests a seer, perhaps even an evocation of the artist himself.