Alexander Kosolapov

Kosolapov, one of the most daring representatives of the Sots Art movement, is best known for artworks that ironically subvert Soviet visual symbols, as well as symbols of American consumer culture, which he became exposed to when he moved to the USA in 1975.

The present lot is an archival print based on the painting Mona Lisa L.H.O.O.Q. (2020) which was exhibited in Moscow in 2020 as part of Kosolapov’s solo exhibition DTM (short for ‘Duchamp, Tatlin, Malevich’). Mona Lisa combines and juxtaposes several historical and cultural references at once: Da Vinci's painting, which has become part of worldwide popular culture, as well as Duchamp’s 1919 work, in which the French artist added a moustache to Mona Lisa’s face. Kosolapov goes one step further by replacing Mona Lisa’s face with that of Russia’s president, highlighting the extent to which Putin's image has become a mass consumer product in its own right.

As Kosolapov noted in a recent interview with Russian Art Focus, 'Duchamp’s approach to art was always conceptual. In this case, he changed the gender and said that 'she is he.' I thought that in our time, we can also do 'she is he', but borrow an image from mass media' (Christianna Bonin, 'Alexander Kosolapov: Back in Moscow', Russian Art Focus, Issue 25, December 2020).