In his seventh exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, German video and collage artist Marcel Odenbach presents five large works on paper along with a group of objects. The eye-catching centerpiece is a portrait of rapper and songwriter Tupac Shakur (1971-1996), surrounded by images of shrubs and trees in urban green areas, a pair of gardener’s overalls drying on a clothesline, and five collaged African seed pods in a display case. Viewed at a distance the collages convey a sense of tranquility and casualness, however upon closer inspection, the subjects’ latent histories are slowly revealed through hundreds of images that make up the larger work. Images relating to the history of the civil rights movement and early 1990s American pop culture depict a 23-year-old Tupac at the height of his fame, in all his serene coolness and splendor, even showing a touch

Read More: Solo exhibitions of works by Marcel Odenbach and Ellen Berkenblit open at Anton Kern Gallery