Boo Ritson (1969-)

Still Alive
signed, dated 2013, and numbered A/P to the reverse
colour archival digital print
94 x 121cm

Provenance:
With Darbyshire White, London

Initially training as a sculptor at the Royal College of Art, Surrey-born artist, Boo Ritson, has gained recognition for the multi-disciplinary approach she takes to her work, which fuses sculpture, painting, photography and performance.

In her best-known series, Ritson coated her living subjects with thick layers of high-gloss emulsion paint that would transform them into characters from an imagined, and yet familiar, narrative. Once covered, and whilst the paint was still dripping, her breathing canvases would then be photographed for oversized prints. Typically, Ritson’s characters have been rooted in American stereotypes, with her painted cast including cheerleaders, ranchers, cops, athletes and slot-jockeys. In her twisted reality, Ritson’s cadre of imposters, each entombed beneath their viscid disguises, become totemic; a series of uncanny emblems reflecting modern consumer culture. In the present lot, the candy-pink of the donut is contrasted against the white of the figure, both suggesting the sculptural qualities of her work, whilst also juxtaposing American clichés against the familiar language of Classicism.

Inspired by photocollage and the visual lexicon of video gaming, Ritson’s later work, though still exploring her own fictitious America, became more focused on the landscape as subject. In these works, Ritson aimed to create a ‘virtual America’ by layering variously worked and digitally altered images. Much like her earlier work, these works invite the viewer to interrogate the reality of what they are seeing.