13 Most Beautiful Avatars

From 17 February till 17 Marth next year, we will see again the most visually dynamic and celebrated stars of video game “ Second Life” http://secondlife.com/ in Postmasters Gallery, New York. This exhibition, called “ 13 Most Beautiful Avatars”, by Eva and Franco Mattes ( a.k.a. 0100101110101101.ORG), http://0100101110101101.org/index.html
is result of their video game flanerie.

The Matteses have been living in virtual world for over a year, exploring this video game and their result is series of portraits. The 13 Most Beautiful Avatars images will be exhibited in the real-world. In Second Life‘s Ars Virtua Gallery, a 3D replica of this physical exhibition space has been recreated for presentation of an exhibition identical to the “real” one, and real presentation was at the Italian Academy in the Columbia University, New York.

These portraits reflect Second Life aesthetics, featuring the bright colors, “artificial” light, 3D shapes, and surreal perspectives that are typical of this virtual world .The avatars’ icons recall questions common to earlier eras of portraiture, including the cultural and psychological context of the images, and the relationships between high art and subculture, between contemporary art and “traditional” art forms, and between art and life itself.

Eva and Franco Mattes are known for their controversial artworks, and they are the recipients of the 2006 “Premio New York” grant, sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Cultural Institute, New York.