Pool & Marianela

You have to have guts to mount an exhibition like the ones that the Argentine artists Pool & Marianela (Marianela Perelli and Emiliano Paolini) exhibit these days across the globe. The Plastic Religion plays with religious iconography, with special emphasis on the Christian religion, disguising the popular Barbie and her partner Ken as virgins, saints and Christs. Past shows have faced staunch criticism and controversy from right-wing factions who have applied their own agendas onto the artwork, but simultaneously this work has found acceptance from Pope Francis (who owns one of the couple’s loose Barbie figures), Mattel (the makers of Barbie), and the Palais du Louvre (which displayed four of Pool y Marianela’s boxed Barbie & Ken dolls in their museum of decorative arts). This current presentation at Gallery 30 South features some of the same striking pieces that were featured at the Louvre, and they’ve produced new unique versions of pieces both owned and beloved by the Pope.