In a quintessential New York scene, Cristina BanBan paints young friends gathered on the sidewalk for pepperoni pizza in an impressive group portrait. Clad in puffer coats that mirror BanBan’s bulbous, weighty stylization, the figures enjoy the city’s token dollar slices before embarking on a night out. Rendered in rich jewel tones, Extra Cheese Before a Long Night Out is at once an intimately personal and ubiquitously familiar scene displaying youthful conviviality and affection.
At the center of the composition is a cluster of hands rendered in BanBan’s distinct, exaggerated foreshortening that contributes to the playfulness of the scene. At nearly double the size of the figure’s heads, the hands, though at almost cartoonish proportions, retain a sophisticated expression. Likewise, the figure’s facial expressions appear carefree and relaxed in a moment of public intimacy. Highlighting the softness of interpersonal connections possible amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, the present work expands upon BanBan’s usual depictions of private intimacy.
"I dipped myself into the extravaganza and mishmash of this urban mass. I looked closely to people, made friends, talked to strangers, danced, ate and drunk in as many different places I could, always trying to follow that restless blast of energy that this city brings."
—Cristina BanBan
Sandro Botticelli, La Primavera, 1477–1478, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Image: Luisa Ricciarini / Bridgeman Images.
BanBan's characters share physical attributes with Botticelli's figures in La Primavera, 1477–1478, through their voluptuous forms, serence facial expressions and gentle movements. Both works are playful by nature and share an overall sense of fantastic beauty. Extra Cheese Before a Long Night Out comes from BanBan’s series 24-Hour Booth, a body of work painted during her 2018 residency in New York that captures the all-hours action of the city. The title of the series derives from the signage on customer service booths in subway stations, finding meaning behind the trope of “the city that never sleeps.” The present work highlights the unique iconography and built environment of the city—from the titular Extra Cheese pizza to the characteristic deep red brick and forest green façade of the building in the background, displaying the established “212” area code of a long-time local business and a neon sign in its window.
Provenance
1969 Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
New York, 1969 Gallery, Cristina BanBan: 24-hour Booth, January 6–February 24, 2019
Literature
Katy Cowan, "Cristina BanBan's beautifully plump figures inspired by the life and energy of New York," Creative Boom, January 14, 2019, online (illustrated) Ruby Boddington, "Cristina BanBan combines anime and neoclassicism in her depictions of the female figure," It's Nice That, March 8, 2019, online (illustrated)
signed with the artist's initials "CB" lower right; signed, titled and dated "'EXTRA CHEESE BEFORE A LONG NIGHT OUT' CRISTINA BANBAN 2018" on the reverse acrylic on linen 59 x 70 7/8 in. (149.9 x 180 cm) Painted in 2018.