Gad/Page/Madonna, 12"x24", 2005
Fortunately Simone Gad’s autobiographical work falls much closer to the former category than the latter. She’s a master of the pop culture iconography that we associate with her native Hollywood. Most of her collages contain a headshot of Gad (an established character actor as well as visual artist), soft-core porn photos (I’m guessing these date back to the 50s or 60s) and some sort of kitschy Christian image, often a Madonna. To assume that Gad’s intent is to simply illustrate her own Madonna/whore identity crisis is to oversimplify her work. The headshots, some going from the 60s and Simone’s early teens, are juxtaposed with the other images to reflect Gad’s topsy-turvy take on life in Hollywood. Her path is anything but linear and her compositions imply a range of emotions including the idealism of a young actress to an experienced woman’s feigned shock at the state of her world.
Gad’s collages aren’t all lighthearted fun even though the reoccurring female trio featuring the earnest struggling actress, the porn star with super-sized breasts and the Virgin Mary is undeniably funny. The daughter of holocaust survivors, she entered the Hollywood fray in her early teens only to audition, against all odds, for the girl-next-door roles that usually went to a Doris Day type blonde or brunette ala Annette Funicello. Simone reminds us of her Jewish roots by including the occasional a sketch of a dredel or Star of David. These sketches are small and one must look closely to see them, perhaps implying that her family, like many other post WWII immigrants, strove towards cultural assimilation at the expense of their Jewish/European heritage. Gad’s quick, tense brush strokes and scrawled text also hint at her own personal conflicts, providing an intriguing counter weight to the goofy kitsch that she is so good at.
Knokke/Gad, 12"x24", 2005
The exhibition also includes Gad’s paintings of buildings, primarily the old Victorian homes near downtown LA and the smaller 1920’s bungalows that are emblematic of early and mid 20th Century Hollywood. At first glance these paintings are surprising, almost out-of-place. Gad has devoted most of her career to pop-oriented, autobiographical collage and assemblage. That’s what we expect from her. However, these paintings deserve their place on the gallery walls. Gad paints in an impasto style with bright colors and strong lines that complement her collages. The buildings are recognizable for what they are, specific structures as well as survivors of a long-gone and idealized Hollywood, the birthplace of the pop icon that Simone Gad understands so well.
Online preview of exhibition: here. More of Simone’s work here.
Simone Gad: Recent Work
New Painting, Assemblage, Collage
L2Kontemporary
990 N. Hill Street #205
LA, CA 90012
January 7 - February 4, 2006