Paul P., Untitled (Secret from on high), 2021

The drawing and collages are extracted details of Hippolyte Moulin’s marble Secret d’en haut (A Secret From on High,1879, Musée d'Orsay), in which a young Mercury whispers something ribald in the ear of a herm (a bust of Hermes atop a pillar). Hermes, being the Greek god from whom the Romans fashioned Mercury, reveals Secret d’en Haut to be a depiction of the young newer god, and his ancient effigy, locking their secret into a perpetual loop.

Bio

Paul P. (1977, Canada). Solo exhibitions include Queer Thoughts, New York, 2021; Morena di Luna, Hove, 2020; Maureen Paley, London, 2016; Massimo Minini, Brescia, 2011; The Power Plant, Toronto, 2007. Group exhibition include Shadows Fall Down, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2021; Front International Triennial, Cleveland, 2018; 2014 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum, 2014; Les paris sont ouverts, Freud Museum, London, 2011; Compass in Hand, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2009. Paul P.'s work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, The Hammer Museum, and The National Gallery of Canada, among others.