Bowman Hal presents A&E, Adolf/Adam & Eva/Eve, Drawing Sessions 2020–2022, an exhibition by acclaimed Los Angeles artist Paul McCarthy, developed in collaboration with German actress Lilith Stangenberg. On view at SOLO’s Bowman Hal space in Madrid from 6 March to 16 May, the exhibition brings together large-format drawings and performative videos that explore power, desire, and domination within Western culture.
Part of McCarthy’s long-term A&E project, developed over more than six years, the exhibition merges drawing, performance, and video to examine fascism not as a closed historical episode, but as an active structure embedded in contemporary imagery and entertainment. The title itself — Adolf & Eva, Adam & Eve, Arts & Entertainment — reflects a deliberate convergence of references, where historical, biblical, and pop-cultural figures collapse into unstable, interchangeable identities.
In McCarthy’s work, politics and spectacle are inseparable. His practice emerges from what he describes as the “infection” of images within pop culture — a space where television, advertising, and entertainment shape not only perception but also political reality. Within this framework, fascism reappears not as a distant horror, but as something banal, absurd, and disturbingly familiar.
Drawing as Action
The works presented originate from a series of performative drawing sessions in which McCarthy and Stangenberg embody shifting roles: Adolf/Adam and Eva/Eve. These figures are not fixed characters but fluid constructions, oscillating between grotesque caricature and symbolic archetype. Their interactions generate a persistent tension, blurring boundaries between violence, intimacy, and absurdity.
Drawing functions here not as representation but as a direct trace of action. Produced without script or predetermined outcome, each piece records a moment of physical and psychological exchange. The result is a body of work shaped by improvisation, repetition, and transformation, where meaning remains unstable and continuously evolving.
Fantasy, Power and Role Reversal
Central to the project is a constant inversion of roles and identities. Stangenberg’s Eve evokes both biblical and cinematic references, incorporating elements of Hollywood fantasy, while McCarthy adopts the figure of a grotesque, performative fascist. This crossing reflects a contemporary condition in which systems of power are internalized and reproduced through cultural imagery.
Emerging from influences such as Wilhelm Reich’s The Mass Psychology of Fascism and Liliana Cavani’s The Night Porter, A&E unfolds as an open-ended process where history, fantasy, and desire intersect. The exhibition invites viewers into an unstable territory where images repeat, mutate, and persist — revealing how entertainment and spectacle can become vehicles of power.
About Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy (Salt Lake City, 1945) is one of the most influential figures in contemporary American art. His practice spans performance, video, sculpture, and installation, often confronting systems of repression, cultural taboos, and the darker aspects of human behavior. Known for his provocative and immersive works, McCarthy employs satire, excess, and physicality to challenge viewers and destabilize conventional narratives.
Trained at the San Francisco Art Institute and the University of Southern California, he has exhibited internationally and collaborated with artists including Mike Kelley and Jason Rhoades. His work continues to push the boundaries of artistic practice, creating spaces where fantasy and reality collide.
The exhibition can be visited until 16 May at Bowman Hal, Madrid.