"As I continued to make many of these crude text paintings, beating myself up, one day I wondered: Why am I really painting? I thought about how my admiration for art history had encouraged me to escape from harsh days so far. That is how I started my Wannabe series, in which I embrace art history itself or attempt to become one with it. I first draw the rough sketch of a masterpiece with a marker, and then I recreate it with spray paint in one go. If only for an instant, I feel possessed by an artist from the past, which gives me the illusion of acquiring freedom from this world. That moment of ecstasy lasts about two to six hours until it comes to an end. I am heavily focused while spraying, so I always drop immediately after I am done." — MADSAKI
Amedeo Modigliani, Nu couché, 1917-18
“Every museum dreams of having a Modigliani nude. Now, a Chinese museum has a globally recognized masterpiece, and my fellow countrymen no longer have to leave the country to see a Western masterpiece." — Liu Yiqian, purchaser of the original Nu couché by Amedeo Modigliani
Provenance
Clear Edition & Gallery, Tokyo Acquired from the above by the present owner
signed and dated 'Madsaki 2015' on the reverse aerosol and house paint on canvas 111 x 170.5 cm. (43 3/4 x 67 1/8 in.) Executed in 2017, this work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Clear Edition & Gallery.