Maurizio Cattelan’s 'Bones' Feature Gold-Plated Panels With Bullet Holes

Maurizio Cattelan’s “America” (2016), a fully functioning toilet cast in 18-karat gold, was stolen from England’s Blenheim Palace this past February. According to reports, the $6 million USD sculpture was broken up and allegedly sold off in parts to a London jeweler. In March, the thieves were found guilty. Cattelan has yet to comment publicly on the incident, but in what feels like a pointed response, he’s unveiled a new solo exhibition titled Bones.

Now on view at Gagosian London, Bones features a series of 24K gold-plated panels riddled with bullet holes. The gallery describes the damaged surfaces as “metaphors for creation and destruction,” exploring the uneasy relationship between material wealth and the widespread availability of deadly weapons. Although not emphasized, the gallery hints that those who purchase a work are able to melt down and reuse the gold, pushing Cattelan’s commentary on affluence even further.

At the center of the gallery sits a striking marble boulder placed atop a couch—an imposing form that evokes a bull’s bust. Straddling the line between realism and surrealism, the work raises questions about its mythic presence and unexpected placement. According to the gallery, it stems from Cattelan’s “desire to produce an object endowed with a mythic presence and the familiarity of history, an ancient-seeming artifact displaced to a contemporary setting.” Together, the golden panels and marble sculpture reflect on opposing forces: domesticity and wildness, creation and destruction, wealth and vulnerability.

Maurizio Cattelan: Bones is on view through May 24.

Gagosian 

17–19 Davies Street

London