There are few contemporary artists that are able to succeed in a virtuoso balancing act between the message and the modus in their painting. Marcella Lassen is certainly one artist that has achieved it. The first exciting paintings demonstrating this feat can be seen in the current show entitled "Faces" at the ManGallery in Lindau. Although this artist is relatively new to the figurative scene, her surprising talent and skill attests to substantial maturity in her approach to the canvas.
"Do you really believe this woman would get up at 2 a.m. to eat tofu and lentil salad?!" is the question the artist posed when interviewed by an observer of the over 6 foot canvas. The painting shows an obviously obese young woman seen from the inside of a refrigerator as she is poised over a hamburger, French fries and cake, on the verge of "digging in". Caught in the endless cycle of never being really satisfied, this condition is reflected in an almost erotic expression on the woman’s face.

Although this artist is relatively new to the figurative scene, her surprising talent and skill attests to substantial maturity in her approach to the canvas.

Immediately the observer is fascinated by what emerges as a characteristic dichotomy in Lassen’s work: seemingly quiet scenes which upon closer observation reveal a surprisingly hard core message. The painting “The Final Burger” is another example: it depicts, at first glance, a peacefully sleeping black man, well-dressed and lying upon black velvet. Half a hamburger bun, placed close by, seems to enhance his existence and functions almost as an attribute. What is the solution to this puzzling image? "Take a closer look at his fingernails," says Marcella Lassen. "The face of a seemingly happy sleeper is misleading, because in reality he is dead (as revealed by the discolored fingernails)." A poor black man collected from the streets of some slum, but nicely dressed in death?-- at this point the overwhelmed observer doesn’t have a clue what to think.

Immediately the observer is fascinated by what emerges as a characteristic dichotomy in Lassen’s work: seemingly quiet scenes which upon closer observation reveal a surprisingly hard core message.

Somewhat perplexed the observer looks at Marcella Lassen’s other paintings and discovers that there is some form of the fast food burger to be found in each one. It seems the hamburger is not just omnipresent—more accurately, it has become global. Aha! Suddenly the process of association is triggered in the observer’s brain. Terms such as "consumer products", "mass consumerism", "economic power", even concepts such as the "shallowness of global culture" suddenly spring to mind, become recognizable. Following this comprehension the observer is magnetically drawn back to the first pictures to reconsider this newly discovered message and to find it where it was not immediately evident before. At the same time the smooth and cool visual aesthetic of these compositions is striking, simultaneously underscoring, in the literal sense of the word, the artist’s intention to paint more than just a “pretty face”.
In summary it can be said that the message of Marcella Lassen’s paintings is in general a ruthless questioning of the current state of global society and more specifically, how this impacts the individual. The modus used to package this message is one which presents it in a beautiful, beguiling, even glossy manner—thus concurring unflinchingly with reality.
It is well worth your time to come and look at these paintings!
Opening: Thursday, May 29th and Friday, May 30th, from 7 to 9 pm, in the Annual Gallery Show entitled "Faces", ManGallery, Schneeberggasse 5, Lindau

The modus used to package this message is one which presents it in a beautiful, beguiling, even glossy manner—thus concurring unflinchingly with reality.