Last month at VoltaNY, one of the most unique (and possibly disturbing) exhibits was that of Costa Rican artist Mauricio Miranda. The exhibit, Plusvalía (which means “added value”) consisted of: a video showing the artist’s back being tattooed with a grid of ten boxes; a photo of the final tattooed back; and ten, empty plexiglass boxes. In the part-performance-part-conceptual piece, Miranda sells fragments of his skin (10 pieces total) to collectors who wish to acquire them. As a buyer, one receives an empty box along with a contract between the artist and buyer, which stipulates that the fragments will not be released to the purchaser until the time of Miranda’s death. This being a statement about the art market over the past years and the lack of resources for emerging artists.

Miranda, writing about the artwork, includes the following: “The piece arises from an insistence on being able to generate resources to produce my work. I see my work as a gesture of participation in an informal economy. In this piece I sell fragments of myself as an action of speculation about the acquisition of works of art…. The container will ultimately house the fragment of my body. The project becomes a process of waiting for what I may be worth.”

Represented by: Galería Bickar. Top and bottom photos: Allan Sprecher

Jan Fabre, an artist from Antwerp, has done everything from stage direction and choreography to creating drawings, sculptures and major installations. The main themes developed in his work are metamorphosis and the artist as warrior in the cause of beauty.

Presently, he has an exhibit at the Galerie Daniel Templon in Paris titled Chimères: painted silicone sculptures of brains showcased in glass boxes.

From top to bottom, and left to right:
Brain of Van Gogh, 2011
The Brain of a Messenger of Death, 2011
Angel Brain, 2011
Braintree with Golden Fruits, 2011

For those of us not visiting Paris before May 20, 2011, there are more images at the gallery’s site.