Using prosthetics and costumes, Alex Da Corte has morphed into characters as varied as Marcel Duchamp and Mister Rogers. In his latest solo show at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea, he embodies the artist Paul Thek in his iconic 1967 tomb and recreates artworks on the theme of hidden spaces by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Fluxus artist Robert Watts, and others. Here, Da Corte places a cast of his own body in a Pink Panther suit. Nearby, a furry head resting on the floor completes the costume, but Da Corte’s double rejects it in favor of pink face paint, as if more fully trying to embody Pink Panther’s elusive character. Posing in a way that recalls Duane Hanson’s ‘Housepainter’ sculpture, the piece introduces a range of ideas, from the personal (Da Corte’s brother is a professional house painter) to the art historical and beyond. (On view in Chelsea through Dec 20th).
