Mona lisa mouse 2021

Sergey Piskunov made this "Mona Lisa Mouse," and it's wild how he remixes the familiar. It’s like he’s saying, “Let’s not take anything too seriously,” especially not art history! The surface is so smooth, it almost looks like a digital rendering, but it’s oil paint. He captures that plastic-y texture, the way the Mona Lisa’s face gets all warped and distorted, reflecting light every which way. Look at the way the browns and greens of the original painting peek through the fractured surface. Each facet is like a little window, offering a glimpse, but never the whole picture. It’s a playful take on seeing, how we piece together images from fragments. Piskunov reminds me of Sigmar Polke, with his layered imagery and irreverent attitude. It’s like they’re both asking, “What happens when we mash up high art and low culture?” It’s a conversation, a back-and-forth about what art can be.