Sad Rapper at Kasmin

Vanessa German is an American sculptor, poet, and performance artist. Her multidisciplinary practice includes sculpture, painting, and fashion design. Right now her solo show that consists of her latest work, Sad Rapper is on view at Kasmin gallery until October 22. German is a self-taught artist who embraces her role as a black woman in the US during a time of radical awareness of social issues. All German’s work is highly political and didactic, her only saving grace is that her sculptures are visually interesting and that she has a fresh approach to combining various found materials and objects. Most of the sculptures in Kasmin are variations on the theme of black pain, black tragedy, and various forms of oppression. One of the most powerful sculptures is Penis Girl from 2022. It features a lifesize female figure whose head is hidden behind artificial flowers painted gold. As the flowers slide down her torso they turn to tears over her left arm and into 17 ceramic penises that cover her full but short skirt that stops just above her knees. At the base, the figure is standing inside a box covered with artificial bright green grass and surrounded by black and white hands that look like inflated surgical gloves. More importantly, the cotton is growing on contorted metal wire stalks around sculptures feet caging and protecting them at the same time. The golden penises on Girl’s skirt look sad and floppy: they are there to provoke and repulse, perhaps they are also the reminders of abuse and rape that was this figure's legacy. Like the rest of the German’s output, this work is here to inspire compassion, and guilt, and to teach a viewer a lesson. If it wasn’t for the highly decorative and competent execution this show would not be very interesting to see.

Vanessa German, Penis Girl, 2022

Photography by Irina Sheynfeld, 2022