Penny’s “Broke” at Hashimoto Contemporary.
Opening virtually on Saturday, January 9th, 2021 at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco, California is artist Penny’s solo exhibition, “Broke.”
Working with humble materials - paint, paper and a scalpel - Penny achieves mind bending and intricate compositions. Seamlessly blending pop culture iconography with social commentary, each piece is created with dozens of hand cut stencils layered on currency. The tongue in cheek nature of the artist’s work often depicts Her Majesty the Queen - blended with Marge Simpson, pixelated and obscured or assuming the visage of Magritte’s subject in the iconic Son of Man. Tackling darker and prevalent social issues for the exhibition - Marty McFly’s DeLorean burns across a confederate bank note from the 1860’s, tools of police violence are emblazoned across the Lincoln Memorial on the back of a five dollar bill, “Sorry We’re Closed” obscures Washington’s face on dollar bill.
A continuation of Penny’s commentary on commodity, wealth, and capitalism, his most recent series of works depict replicas of famous paintings from art history with key elements “stolen” and excised from the work. A conspicuously missing crown from Basquiat’s “Pez Dispenser” dinosaur and the famed pearl earring from Vermeer’s most notable portrait have been snatched from their frames - begging the question, what is valuable?
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