Andy Dixon "No Big Deal I Want More"

Andy Dixon “No Big Deal I Want More”

August 24, 2019 / September 21, 2019 – HONG KONG

Over the Influence is pleased to present Canadian artist Andy Dixon’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, No Big Deal I Want More, titled after the lyric from Disney’s Little Mermaid’s iconic song Part of Your World. No Big Deal I Want More will open on Saturday 24 August and runs until 21 September 2019. An opening reception for the artist will be held at the gallery from 4 to 6 pm on August 24, 2019.

Exploring themes of decadence, patronage, and the relationship between art and wealth, Andy Dixon draws inspiration from historical objects of luxury. For his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Dixon will exhibit 15 new works on canvas from three of his ongoing series: Auction House Objects, Paintings of Paintings, and Patron’s Homes.

Following a common line through Dixon’s practice is a series of auction house objects plucked from recent Christie’s catalogues and titled by their Christie’s identification number, reducing them to a status of commodities. For his exhibition with Over the Influence, he has included a number of Asian objects sold through Christie’s antiques auctions. Adjacent are Dixon’s Paintings of Paintings, reinterpretations of artworks from the past, contextualized with a contemporary eye. Working from common historical tropes, Dixon reimagines still-life and odalisque paintings as a vehicle for desire. One referencing The Alliance of Love and Wine by Jean-Marc Nattier, shows a man and woman drinking from a carafe, her dress falling below her breast, uninhibited by life’s struggles. In the same vein are paintings of Dixon’s own collectors’ homes, with his works hanging prominently in their living rooms. He has included patrons from the US, Europe, and Asia showing the global reach of his practice. These self-referential works subject Dixon’s own artwork to the queries of the rest of the exhibition – what is value, what is luxury, and who makes these decisions in today’s society? Underlying self-deprecation stirs beneath the surface of his candy-colored canvases – a poignant study in the psychology of value.