Witness

Coming to prominence in the 1980s, American artist Julia Wachtel extends the legacy of the Pictures Generation, appropriating imagery from popular culture with biting satirical flair. Her work has gained new relevance in the post-Internet age, questioning how the critical gaze can function when constantly bombarded with imagery. Included in the artist’s solo exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2014, as well as the Saatchi Gallery’s group show Champagne Life in 2016, the present work relates to her celebrated Landscape series, which combines photographs from the news with cartoon characters and abstract panels of colour. Particularly inspired by Andy Warhol, the artist draws attention to the collision of violence and banality that floods our phone and television screens on a daily basis. Wachtel has exhibited widely over the past few years, participating in major group exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D. C. Her works are held in major public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.