St. Anthony and the Demons

Michal Rutz. b. 1988 Inowrocław, Poland.  Lives and works in Vienna.`

“As a person brought up in a Polish, highly conservative family, I internalize the Catholic values and an aversion to certain sexual behaviors and ultimately also to myself. Through my work, I try to free body and sex from the religious matrix. On one hand, I work with depictions of religious scenes and combine them with what is excluded and on another hand. I redefine them and create a new narration.”   Michal Rutz

Self-Portrait With Plucked Eye – 1931

Victor Brauner (b 1903 Romania, died 1966 in Paris) Dada, Surrealist Artist, Sculptor and Illustrator.

Self-Portrait with Plucked Eye shows the artist’s face with his eye missing and the eye cavity hanging open. The figure is seen head-on, with the one remaining eye staring directly at the viewer in a penetrating manner. This image is more representational than many of Brauner’s works, depicting a self-portrait painted in the mirror, accurate apart from the eye. The muted colors and lack of blood or gore give the piece a dream-like feel and reinforce the uncanny juxtaposition of realism and Surrealism.