MASSIMODECARLO is pleased to announce its newest limited-edition project, marking a new chapter in the gallery’s journey. On the occasion of Room Service, we are delighted to debut our latest limited-edition work, Disco Volante. Created by the Scandinavian duo Elmgreen & Dragset, this unique piece draws inspiration from John Armleder's Painting with Coat Hanger from 1984.
Disco Volante by Elmgreen & Dragset was conceived as part of Room Service - the collaborative exhibition between the Scandinavian duo and John Armleder, opening at Casa Corbellini-Wasserman in March 2023. The new work formally and conceptually references John Armelder’s Painting with Coat Hanger from 1984, while subtly nodding back to the artists’ Powerless Structures, Fig. 81 (1999), which depicts a minimal stainless-steel kitchen worktop and sink piled high with white “saucers.” This piece from 1999 belongs to Elmgreen & Dragset’s Powerless Structures series, in which they gently modify everyday objects and reconfigure physical domestic structures.
Disco Volante features a tea towel on a stretcher frame, suspended from a coat hanger. A silkscreened image of a “flying saucer” hovers above the towel’s typical red and white Mediterranean grid pattern, juxtaposing the everyday with the fantastical. These familiar objects, configured into a surreal constellation, question the relationship between the mundane and the mythical, the veritable and the visionary. Like Armleder’s Painting with a Coat Hanger (1984), it can easily be displayed on or from other objects, such as a door handle, a cupboard door, the back of a chair and so on, and can be stored away in a closet should one want to take it out only for special occasions.
Room Service
Room Service
Elmgreen & Dragset and John Armleder
Elmgreen & Dragset and John Armleder
Each edition of this work is unique, as the flying saucer lands in a different spot on the canvas every time. When your edition arrives, you will be greeted by a delightful surprise!
John Armleder's Painting with Coat Hanger from 1984 is a seminal work of art that upended traditional notions of what art could be. Crafted from coat hangers sourced from Joseph Beuys’s Felt Suit work from 1970, Armleder's piece imbued mundane objects with a newfound significance, blurring the boundaries between functionality and contemplation.
Armleder's work was initially displayed in the cosy confines of John Gibson's apartment, a fitting setting that perfectly complemented the intimate nature of the artwork. The piece pays homage to the avant-garde Russian artist Kazimir Malevich, whose work served as a powerful inspiration throughout Armleder's career. Rendered in oil on canvas, Armleder's piece features a uniform silver background, a yellow circle, and a slightly tilted white shape that evokes Malevich's iconic white square. Each work was painted by hand, making the 60-edition masterpiece a unique and one-of-a-kind creation.