'After Picasso' by Genco Gulan at Izmir Museum

In the new project Bio-Cubist paintings, contemporary artist Genco Gulan re-appropriates late cubist works of the grand master Pablo Picasso. Gulan choses among the cubist female portraits of Picasso, appropriates and than paints them on canvas.

We all know that, at the beginning of the 20th century, cubists (for example Braque) deformed the way we see things, in exchange for the bright colors. However, it is only Pablo Picasso who introduce bright, primary colors back into this influential genre. “His lead in cubism made him so powerfull that no other artist had the courage to create such powerfull brave images”. (Dr. Burcu Plevanoğlu)

Today new electronic technology started to provide new tools to alter images but further more bio technology offers new tools to alter human body. Contemporay artist Genco Gulan decided to work on Picasso’s master pieces almost a century later because he felt that they are stil alive. His attemp to re-evaluate the most influential painintings of the most influential movement is not to start a new art movement but to revitalise Art History. Because in post-post modern era, art history kep on repeating itself again and again?

Gulan focused on colorfull cubist female portraits of Pablo Picasso, which actually look like –lets be honest - aliens or monsters? Genco Gulan re deformed/ composed these images using digital technology on a computer as if they are genetically modified. Than he created mutants (or cyborgs) out of these figures: Adding (or removing) multiple organs such as eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heads, arms, tits and/ or fingers.

Actually Pablo Picasso have had altered the human form in all the possible ways, however he never had painted additional eyes to a face or additional organs to a body. Genco Gulan apllied the notion of copy/ paste into oil on canvas, named the figures after important woman in his life.

While producing his new work, Gülan has this question in mind: “How would Picasso have had paint woman of the 21st Century?