Jean Claracq (French, born in 1991) investigates the urban existence shaped, to a certain extent, by the language of advertising and social media that is used to arouse desire, fascination, and lust. Claracq’s meticulously painted figurative oil-on-wood paintings, as well as his tempera works on paper, present young men caught between lonely city life and social media boredom. The works are of an extremely small size and often elaborately framed, which brings to mind the religious medieval paintings and their precious status. This historical tradition stands in stark contrast with the imagery of the works: full of elements of contemporary pop culture, scenes of everyday (gay) life and urban areas, particularly car parks, which, for the artist, symbolize a world alienated by consumerism. Claracq combines found images from the Internet with many references from different art historical periods and, by doing so, allows various perspectives to co-exist, creating richness of interpretation.

His sculpture Monument 2 (2024) is deliberately made from materials and form that are loaded with references and full of paradoxes. The provocative title, which does not fit for a small sculpture, questions our desire for grandeur and glorification, for which, historically, the medium sculpture was reserved. The idea of momument is confronted by the fountain, which was first used at courts, but later became a typical, popular, functional sculpture in cities around the world. Fountain was at the same time the title of the famous urinal work by Marcel Duchamp (1917) that introduced the idea of ready-made and conceptual art, and consequently changed the course of art history. The figurine of the athletic man that evokes the classical Greek sculptures holds a precious natural pearl, as if this young man is playing footbal. It stands on a wooden form that copies Constantin Brâncuși’s famous young man’s torso (1919-1924), from which Claracq lets the water flow, and hints again at urinating. The copper mold used for baking – used as the basis for a ‘monument’ – mocks old-fashioned ideas of masculinity.