Andres Serrano and Barry X Ball Reworks Religious Iconography in ‘Pious & Profane’

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In June 2023, Pope Francis invited approximately 200 artists, authors, and creative minds to honor the Vatican’s modern art collection. Among the American representatives were Barry X Ball and Andres Serrano, who created the controversial work Immersion (Piss Christ) – a photograph of a crucifix submerged in urine – which stirred up controversy in the art community and even U.S. senators back in 1987. Though there were numerous pieces that could have provoked Christian protesters, the Pope praised the arts for its power to inspire hope across the globe, without avoiding human nature’s depths and shadows.

In the Patricia Low Contemporary gallery situated in Gstaad, Switzerland, Serrano and Ball present their reflections on their Vatican visit through a fresh duet exhibition. Entitled “Pious & Profane“, this show establishes a link between these apparently divergent ideas, highlighting “harmony and beauty” via thought-provoking and challenging artwork that offers a stark contrast to each other.

For Ball, who was brought up in a fundamentalist Christian environment, creating art is seen as a spiritual undertaking. Intrigued by the universal human qualities portrayed in religious iconography, Ball’s sculptures crafted from sodalite and marble move past the symbols of faith found in traditional works to expose the boundary between innocence and flaw.

In his artwork, Serrano perceives the sacred and profane as interconnected concepts. This is evident in his newer paintings and the controversial “Immersion” series, where he immerses Christian figures in his own bodily fluids. Through this practice, Serrano challenges the traditional relationship between the grotesque and the awe-inspiring, inviting viewers to discover the hidden sanctity within desecration, as well as the profane concealed within the sacred.

As a fervent admirer, I found it fascinating how the seemingly disparate realms of piety and defiance can appear to be polar opposites – one steeped in reverential adoration, the other daringly rebellious. Nevertheless, they share an intense emotional intensity that both bewilders and captivates. In these expressive actions, devotion and challenge intertwine, each igniting a route towards transcendence.

Pious & Profane is now on view in Gstaad through March 15, 2025.

Patricia Low Contemporary
Promenade 55,
3780 Gstaad, Switzerland

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2025-02-11 20:26