Artist: Ricardo Passaporte
Exhibition title: Best In Show
Venue: Steve Turner, Los Angeles, US
Date: February 13 – March 13, 2021
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Steve Turner is pleased to present Best In Show, a solo exhibition by Lisbon-based Ricardo Passaporte consisting of six new paintings that depict close-up portraits of recent Westminster Kennel Dog Show winners. While these spray-painted portraits of Rumor, Flynn, King, Babar, Miss P and CJ share a uniform blue background, each dog is a specific, identifiable breed, a “brand” vying for popularity, “likes” and market share. The dogs, however, lack the usual “cute” characteristics associated with breeds and dog portraits— instead, Passaporte has replaced the cliche with a neutral, abstract quality, one that liberates both the dog and the viewer from the suffocating effects of marketing, advertising and consumerism.
Ricardo Passaporte (born 1987, Lisbon) has had solo exhibitions at L21, Palma de Mallorca (2020); Ruttkowski68, Paris (2017 & 2018); Eduardo Secci, Florence (2018) and Annarumma, Naples (2017). This is his first exhibition with Steve Turner.
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Best In Show, 2021, exhibition view, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Ricardo Passaporte, Babar 2020, 2021, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
Ricardo Passaporte, Rumor 2017, 2021, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
Ricardo Passaporte, Miss P, 2015, 2021, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
Ricardo Passaporte, King 2019, 2021, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
Ricardo Passaporte, CJ 2016, 2020, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
Ricardo Passaporte, Flynn 2018, 2020, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 63 x 55 1/8 inches (160 x 140 cm)
