Max Schumann “Tonight Where You Live”

3A Gallery

[Image: Max Schumann "Tonight Where You Live" (2019)]

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In his first solo gallery exhibition in nearly ten years, artist Max Schumann makes a new pairing of two different painting series. Painted with acrylic and house paint on synthetic fabric, the series “Tonight Where You Live” was made in 2009, and is based on snapshots off the TV screen depicting a local New York City weather forecast. Created in the mid 1990s through early 2000s, the series “Banana Republic” is painted in acrylic and house paint on National Geographic magazine covers, depicting a wheatfield copied from an advertising campaign for the clothing company Banana Republic. Countries that the U.S. invaded or militarily intervened in are listed on the paintings with the dates of involvement.

Since being coined in the early 20th century, “banana republic” has mostly been used as a pejorative term for so called “third world” countries which are politically and economically unstable. Now in the early 21st century a banana republic is what the U.S. has in many ways become.