Ivy Haldeman’s Interesting Type

Images courtesy of Downs & Ross, New York

“Many of you have asked why we are so confident in our ability to deliver the top line and what specifically will drive it…We see Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs increase households’ penetration and velocity, grow dollar sales and gain share.” 

– The Kraft Heinz Co.  2018 Earnings Call, The Interesting Type Release Statement

Penetration, velocity, grow-dollar and gain share. Lunchables, cold cuts and consumer favourites. The Oscar Mayer Weiner earnings call makes me wet. The clever Ivy Haldeman, known for her soft-core pornography hotdog paintings, explores the intersection of perversion and capitalism in her current show “The Interesting Type” at Downs & Ross. Sourcing Kraft Heinz smut and Pierre Klossowski’s 1970 book Living Currency in her exhibition text, Haldeman connects consumer culture and deep-seated sexual desire. Do our desires pursue commodification or is it the other way around?  Joining her namesake feminine-phallic hotdog are pairings of Hillary-esque dress suits. Eerily bodiless yet voluptuous, Haldeman’s suits titled “Mauve Suit, Tan Suit” and “Pink Suit, Peach Suit,” are both light-hearted and dismal. See “The Interesting Type” at Downs & Ross until October 21st. – Claire Milbrath

 

Mauve Suit, Tan Suit, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 67 × 64 inches

Blue Suit, Blue Suit, 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 73 × 73 inches


Hand, Index Linger Back
, 2018 Acrylic on canvas, 
24×161/2 inches

 Colossus, Ankles Cross, Hand Hooks Heel, Finger Tips Press Bun, 2018 Acrylic on canvas, 58 × 84 inches