Alex Israel: Desperado (Blue Car)
In Desperado (Blue Car) (2021), Alex Israel reimagines his 2014 sculpture of the same title as an editioned digital print on handmade paper in bas relief, produced by Mixografia. The image of a 1950s Corvette with a saguaro cactus, suffused in the glow of a Southern California sunset, recalls Israel’s Sky Backdrop paintings. Evoking the Southwestern landscape as often mythologized in film and television, it also echoes the iconic conclusion of Callie Khouri and Ridley Scott’s 1991 road movie Thelma and Louise. The title is derived from a song by the Eagles that features a cowhand whose tortured imagination invites comparison with the struggles of an artist. Available in four different color combinations, Desperado sparks memories of a cinematic past.
Artist: Alex Israel
Producer: Mixografia
Date: 2021
Medium: Mixografia print on handmade paper
Dimensions: Unframed: 22 1/2 × 40 inches (57.2 × 101.6 cm); Framed: 26 × 43 3/4 × 2 1/2 inches (66 × 111.1 × 6.4 cm)
Edition: Edition 10/20
Signed: Signed, numbered, and dated on recto
Framed: Sold framed
