Over the past two decades, Katherine Bernhardt’s schtick has thrown everyday stuff onto the canvas in exuberant, messy, and colorful paintings. Ketchup, hamburger, toilet paper, toothbrush, cigarette… analysis a gallery of Bernhardt is to see an artist who works instinctively, one who looks at something at hand and then makes it massive, flat and drowning in a sea of colors.
More recently, that handy thing was Pokemon cards. Bernhardt’s son started collecting cards during the pandemic and soon she too was a fan. Bernhardt captures the fun and vibrant escapism of the Pokémon universe in his new show at David ZwirnerHong Kong– deep breath – “Jealous eyes dummy doll ditto beefy pikachu mimikyu brutal game Galarian rapid dash libra horn HP 270 Vmax full art”, which will run until August 20.
Installation view of “Katherine Bernhardt: dummy doll jealous eyes ditto pikachu beefy mimikyu rough play Galarian rapid dash libra horn HP 270 Vmax full art” at David Zwirner, Hong Kong, 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Most of the paintings exhibited in his first solo adventure in Hong Kong replicate the formal components of a Pokémon trading card: a rectangular portrait with a border outlined and inscribed with the Pokémon’s hit points (HP), energy type and skill moves, written in English and Japanese.
As always, Bernhardt does not like pompous titles. Surfing Pikachu (2021) is as expected: a happy Pikachu riding through a sea of whirlwinds on a pink surfboard. Chansey (2021) is generally affable, clutching his lucky egg which resembles a golden acorn, and labeled “#113” according to his Pokédex number.
The difference is in the execution. With the Pokémon Cards, which Nintendo released under the art direction of Ken Sugimori in 1996, the image appears bright and computer-enhanced, with the layout balancing artwork and gameplay information. Bernhardt’s “maps” have no such constraint. Colors collide and merge, and his creatures dominate the canvas, crossing boundaries in striking gestures that echo iconic moves known from Nintendo’s video games.
Installation view, Katherine Bernhardt, Pikachu Pika Ball And Same VMax Ju Ju (2021). Photo courtesy of David Zwirner.
This blurry and bold effect is a product of the Frantic pace which Bernhardt works. In a process she has followed for much of her career, the outlines are first spray painted, then she lays the canvas on the floor and the layers of diluted acrylic paint, hence the bleeding colours. Often, Bernhardt attacks several tables simultaneously.
The crude reassignment of pop culture subjects is something of a Bernhardt staple. It’s already painted dark Vador, Pink Panther, Garfield, ET, usually on warm tropical backgrounds. The show’s notes proclaim that the St. Louis-born artist challenges the “high-low dichotomies of contemporary painting” and, by extension, challenges the value systems of the art world.
But she might as well do Pokemon paintings because they’re fun.
“There were reviews, like, ‘Oh, great choice of subject to paint.’ What do you want me to paint? War zones and people dying and children being killed? There’s enough of that on TV and in the real world,” she told the South China Morning Post.
“Art, for me, is more like an escape. And a world you can step into, colorful and good.
See more images from the show below.
Installation view of “Katherine Bernhardt: dummy doll jealous eyes ditto pikachu beefy mimikyu rough play Galarian rapid dash libra horn HP 270 Vmax full art” at David Zwirner, Hong Kong, 2023. Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Catherine Bernhardt, Chansey (2021). Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Catherine Bernhardt, Gengar and Mimikyu Tag Team GX Poltergeist Horror House (2021). Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Catherine Bernhardt, Galarian Quick Dash (2023). Photo courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Katherine Bernhardt in her studio, Saint-Louis, 2023. Photo: Whitten Sabbatini.
“Katherine Bernhardt: Dummy doll jealous eyes ditto pikachu beefy mimikyu brutal game Galarian quick dash balance horn HP 270 Vmax full artis on view at David Zwirner, 5–6/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, through August 20.
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