Corporate. The paintings produced by Mba Fabrications Inc. are as revelatory as they are handsome. They expose The Businessman for what he is: a headless suit that despite his many layers of accomplishment, can't escape the burdens of his urges, unease and endless ambition.
In an age when artists routinely become so successful and prolific that they morph into corporations, we are left to ponder the imponderable: what if a faceless corporation began creating its own art? If ideas go from focus groups straight into production, doesn't the artist become merely a superfluous middleman? It was with this notion that Mba Fabrications Inc., the brainchild of entrepreneur Donald Ian McCaw, was born.
Initially, McCaw identified the fine art production industry as an ideal way to incorporate economic diversity into his business interests. As he describes it, "Here was a high-profile industry with great margins that had somehow missed out on the transformative innovations of modern management science." In 2010 the company began manufacturing appealing and marketable fine art.
To generate these Business Pop paintings, a revolving cast of employees work under the direction of a senior management team to perform every function from design to modeling to paint application. Multiple sketches, templates and painting techniques have been employed in the creation of each canvas.
The resulting paintings produced by Mba Fabrications Inc. are as revelatory as they are handsome. They expose The Businessman for what he is: a headless suit that despite his many layers of accomplishment, can't escape the burdens of his urges, unease and endless ambition. A contemporary anti-hero, created from an amalgam of arms, belts, wristwatches and designer wing-tipped shoes. Sartorial vanity becomes a kind of armor.
The company has been delighted by the products it has created and is pleased to present these artistic fabrications at Anna Kustera Gallery from February 2 to March 3, 2012. Each collector choosing to acquire one of the Corporate artworks will receive, in addition to the painting itself, stock options in Mba Fabrications Inc.
Image: DIM no. 1, 2011, acrylic on wood panel, 36 x 90 inches
Opening reception: Thursday, February 2, 6-8pm
Anna Kustera
520 West 21st Street - New York
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11-6pm
Free admission