Almine Rech | Paris, Matignon is pleased to present Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel’s latest solo exhibition with the gallery, Rosebud, to be held from October 18 to November 13, 2021.
For his first show in Almine Rech’s Paris space on Avenue Matignon (his fourth with the gallery), Alex Israel continues his exploration of Los Angeles and the mythos of Hollywood.
As the realm of demigods and heroes, Hollywood remains the greatest industrial force capable of shaping the collective imagination, and at the heart of this history of illusion lies the ultimate masterpiece of the seventh art: Citizen Kane. Orson Welles served as producer, screenwriter, and lead actor in this film — his first — which was made in 1941, and tells the story of the life and death of Charles Foster Kane in his palace of Xanadu. The screenplay is considered an unofficial biography inspired by the famous press magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Alex Israel’s exhibition is designed around a single item that refers to the film: a reconstruction of the iconic “Rosebud,” which is now considered by some to be the most famous prop in the history of cinema. This object, whose name is spoken in Kane’s last breath in the film’s opening scene, constitutes a mysterious thread that runs throughout the film, an enigma whose significance only becomes clear over time.
— Nicolas Trembley