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James Franco’s new visual for Sotheby’s is uncomfortable and beautiful

Contemporary re-imagining in the most Franco way

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Everybody’s fave arty stoner has done some more freaky and kinda geeky shit. James Franco has joined New York art-house, Sotheby’s to create a video response to their current selling exhibition “Glazed: The Legacy of the Della Robbia”. The exhibition brought to Sotheby’s with the help of gallerist, Fabrizio Moretti showcases three generations of Renaissance mastery.

The Della Robbia family of Florence are remembered for their richly coloured and deeply glazed terracotta sculptures. 19 of those quintessentially Della Robbia sculptures are currently being showcased at Sotheby’s New York headquarters until November 18.

As a part of Sotheby’s ongoing artist response series, Franco opted for clear goo to slow-mo cover his live models in, mimicking the glazing of the sculptures he’s celebrating. The four-minute filmic celebration sees live models dressed as the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist being ‘glazed’ in the most oddly mesmerising way.

Franco told Dazed, “I was immediately struck by the vibrancy and shine of the glaze of the Della Robbia sculptures in this show, especially the human forms frozen in time as icons. To mimic and modernise these sculptures, I wanted to create living icons emphasising the glazing process.”

Check out all the sticky icky goodness above and if you’re in New York, suss the real dealio.

  • Words: Ella McNicol

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