Sometimes you just gotta draw violence. Or, in the case of Alex Pardee’s new art show “Return of the Doppelgangers,” violent characters from film and TV. Pardee has one of the most recognizable styles in all of pop culture: big, bright, evocative, and often really freaking creepy. For his latest show, he’s combining some of his largest pieces ever and some of his smallest. The smaller pieces are “Dopplegangers,” Pardee’s interpretations of characters from the world of pop culture. He’ll have over 100 on display starting Friday in Los Angeles, and io9 is excited to exclusively debut a few of them and talk to the artist about the show.
“Return of the Doppelgangers” runs from December 13 through January 4 in Los Angeles, with all remaining pieces from the show going online December 19. Click here for hours and information and check out a small sampling below.
Germain Lussier, io9: In your own words, tell us about this show and what makes it special.
Alex Pardee: I started making this specific ongoing series of paintings over a decade ago. Not THESE particular paintings, but this “Doppelgangers” series. This project has been my therapy the whole time. I always just spontaneously painted a movie monster or villain when I got inspired and wanted to just make something for fun. I took the inspiration seriously, but I never took the paintings seriously. They were, and are, for me. Over that decade I’ve created over 300 of these paintings but to this day I haven’t ever had a dedicated gallery show that features them. So I’m finally doing it. I got excited about the notion of seeing a giant collection of these Doppelganger paintings all chaotically living together so I went for it. And this show has over 100 brand-new paintings.
Also, by the way, this show is two extremes in regards to sizes of my art. I’m simultaneously showcasing the largest canvases I’ve ever had in a gallery alongside the smallest paintings I’ve ever had. The size gambit runs from 10 feet tall to six inches tall. But that’s also the nature of monsters, right? Horror comes in all sizes!
io9: When putting together a show of this size, how do you prep? Do you have a list of characters and ideas? Do just do one and keep going?
Pardee: I’ve never done a show LIKE this! Usually my art shows revolve around an original IP or a narrative that I create specifically for the show, and I create art that is inspired by that narrative. I love storytelling. But for this show, I’m using 100 other creators’ ideas as inspiration.
I think if I approached it as making a big list, that may have been too daunting and I may have overthought that list constantly. So instead I made a bunch of little lists. I would work on like five paintings at a time, sprung from either monsters that I’ve always wanted to paint, or even a few times, like with The Substance, Smile 2, I walked out of a movie theater and said “Well, going home and adding that one TONIGHT!”
Pardee in his studio – Photo: Chloe Riceio9: We love your art because it’s often so out there and gruesome. Do you have a line that you yourself won’t cross?
Pardee: I’m not personally offended by anything, or squeamish about much, especially art and films and fictional works. But there’s definitely fictional works that I am not interested in recreating or using as inspiration for my own work. There’s some incredibly well-made films, like Irreversible or Requiem For a Dream, that I think are really good, but I’m not rushing home to make fan art for them. I also don’t tend to incorporate much “sleaze” into my own work, as much as I grew up loving some pretty sleazy films.
io9: What are some of your favorite pieces in the show or, some that you think will surprise visitors?
Pardee: That’s tough! These Doppelganger paintings were all really fun to make. I don’t overthink them, I just get inspired and paint something silly. But speaking of The Substance, which is one of my favorite films of the year, I’m really proud of that one because I saw The Substance in the theater, and I really wanted to paint it, but there were NO SPOILERS online for what Monstro Elisasue looked like, and I tried to go from memory at first, but instead I went back to the theater immediately to watch it again and take mental notes. Then I just painted it and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! Also, one thing I’ve always wanted to do with these “Doppelgangers” is seeing what they would look like IN homages to actual movie posters, so there are a few paintings in the show that are nods to some of my favorite movie posters
io9: What makes an Alex Pardee take on a pop culture icon unique from someone else’s?
Pardee: I’m not sure how other creators approach pop culture art but in my case, I’m not too interested in just recreating the look of the characters perfectly, or even remotely perfectly! Like with most of my original art, I add some of my own personality into my pop culture art, and I’m a silly person, so a lot of my pop-culture art has a bit of silliness and I never take the art too seriously. If I think it’s funnier to make Michael Myers smile, I’m gonna make him smile!
“Return of the Doppelgangers” runs through January 4 at Harman Projects, 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd, Unit B, in Los Angeles CA. Click here for more info.
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