“A politic” at Gallery XIV

From my review of “A politic” at Gallery XIV in Boston:

There’s nothing like a brouhaha to make art feel relevant. And the Boston art scene has just been blessed by two. First, Gallery XIV caused a stir with its “a politic” show, the first thing it’s really done to turn heads since it opened last fall. Let’s hope that’s the beginning of something. …

The Gallery XIV show has 40 artists exploring political themes. That didn’t freak anyone out. What got people in a tizzy was an appearance at the July 2 opening by New Jersey’s Ron English, who’s (in)famous for (illegally) pasting over commercial billboards with his own slogans: “Jihad is Over! (If you want it)”; “Jesus drove an SUV/Mohammad pumped his gas/The new H2 Hummer”; “Support our CEOs.” (An outdoor video screening at the gallery on July 25 will include Pedro Caravajal’s documentary “POPaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English.”)

That evening, on a construction fence across the street from the gallery (with permission from the landlord), English pasted up 11 13-foot-tall reproductions of his painting “Abraham Obama,” [pictured at top] which merges the features of President Lincoln with Barack’s.

Read the rest here.

“A politic,” Gallery XIV, 450 Harrison Ave., Boston, July 4 to Oct. 4, 2008.

Pictured from top to bottom: Ron English, “Abraham Obama” mural; Joseph Woolfolk, “Basrah to Baghdad”; and Remedios Rapoport “Gentle Revolution Mobile.”