A father-and-son artist team blew into Guadalajara this week from Los Angeles for the opening of their show at a gleaming gallery called Dieresis. Mr. Brainwash and Hijack, who are sometimes dubbed “urban artists” and compared to Warhol or Basquiat, are known for their sassy messages and bold images, such as a monkey atop a Coca-Cola logo spouting the positive-thinking maxim, “Follow your dreams.”
But these guys have not always been an artistic duo. The papa artist, Mr. Brainwash aka Thierry Guetta, who has roots in France but has lived for many years in Los Angeles, achieved renown through the cover he did for Madonna’s CD “Celebration” and for a show with the tongue-in-cheek if not downright sarcastic title “Life is beautiful,” held in L.A. in 2008.
The son, Hijack, whose real name was not mentioned at the show’s opening, is a 20-ish Franco-American who says he prefers not to show his face in photos — perhaps because he sometimes does graffiti — uninvited.“If I’m not invited, I invite myself,” he quipped with a smile.
Perhaps not surprisingly for an artist who uses a pseudonym, who was introduced to art by his cousin (a street artist named Invader) and who appropriates logos and stars’ images (Alfred Hitchcock with a sign reading “Life is beautiful,” for example), even Mr. Brainwash’s identity is in question. However, a person slightly resembling Sonny of Sonny and Cher did show up (a bit late) at a press conference at the side of young Hijack for the inauguration of the Dieresis show. But some have speculated that Mr. Brainwash is a prank by one Banksy, director of a film about Brainwash.
The exhibit consists of several roomfuls of prints and paintings, which, true to their roots in the overheated world of art commercialism, are said to have been produced to order by a stable of graphic designers.
Shows until mid to late October. Dieresis, Avenida Hidalgo 1228 a few blocks west of Enrique Diaz de Leon. (33) 3825-0921. The gallery houses a lovely cafe.