Can you hear the sound of the gunshot? An older piece within Axel Bottenberg's collection, 'Duck Shoot' is the artist's ode to Manchester, told through a total cultural mash-up with Pop Art icon Roy Lichtenstein. A recurring motif, the duck is a direct reference to tv soap Coronation Street, and to English working class culture.

Dimensions: 40 x 40 x 10cm
Price: £2600.00

Short Text: Can you hear the sound of the gunshot? An older piece within Axel Bottenberg's collection, 'Duck Shoot' is the artist's ode to Manchester, told through a total cultural mash-up with Pop Art icon Roy Lichtenstein. A recurring motif, the duck is a direct reference to tv soap Coronation Street, and to English working class culture. Long Text: Can you hear the sound of the gunshot? An older piece within Axel Bottenberg's collection, 'Duck Shoot' is the artist's ode to Manchester, told through Bottenberg's eclectic lens. A recurring motif in Bottenberg's oeuvre, the duck is a direct reference to tv soap Coronation Street and to English working class culture. A total cultural mash-up with Pop Art icon Roy Lichtenstein, this colourful pastiche references Bottenberg's own love of Lichtenstein, as he recalls his first art poster being a piece by the Pop Art legend. In the style of Lichtenstein, the 'Whaam!' text draws our attention to the left of the canvas, whilst the bullet hole in the centre disturbs the piece - its as though we can hear the sound of the gunshot. The charmingly domestic wallpapered backdrop contrasts to the brash primary colour palette and the humorous positioning of the duck, creating a sensory overload of images and sounds which make this piece endlessly entertaining. A piece that has been carefully designed, experimented an engineered - it would make an undoubtedly unique asset to any art collection. “The duck has always been a reference to Coronation Street – and to English bourgeois working class culture” Building and engineering objects is equally as important as making images for Bottenberg - it's a a way for him to make something real and tactile, and satisfies an urge which painting doesn't quite reach. The 3D elements of his works create visual impact as well as exciting technical challenges for Bottenberg, which keeps his work engaging and distinctive. Through this process, Bottenberg's works generate visual puns about a myriad of cultural references, as well as concerns such as the rise of global capitalism in the 1980s, a time in which he studied alongside the YBAs (Young British Artists) at the Royal College of Art. This environment inevitably impacted Bottenberg's practice, which is imbued with irony and social commentary. Graduating with a degree in printmaking, Bottenberg's practice has blossomed and developed into an unusual and exciting body of work, tackling a variety of subject matter through a variety of materials. Bottenberg’s artworks seek to provoke a response and shock factor, whilst the pop culture references maintain a familiarity - his works are endlessly entertaining and full of life and vigour - perfect for any contemporary art collection, business space or home.

Axel Bottenberg is a mixed media artist who works to create bright, compelling compositions which blur the boundaries of painting and sculpture. Born in 1961 in Darmstadt, Germany, Bottenberg studied Fine Art and Printmaking at the Canterbury College of Fine Art, and later Printmaking at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. Bottenberg is now based at Bankley Studios in Levenshulme, Manchester, and is renowned for challenging the sphere of contemporary art through his practice. Bottenberg's oeuvre is imbued with entertaining pop culture and art historical references, and his works often reject art tradition through juxtaposing high and low art iconographies. Bottenberg is heavily inspired by 1960s Pop Art and its resurgence in the 1990s, which he portrays through his own eclectic lens and bold colour palette. Bottenberg's researched approach gives scope for sardonic appraisals within a varied, eccentric body of work. Any piece from Axel Bottenberg's oeuvre would be a valuable and compelling asset to any contemporary art collection, business space or home.