Many watercolours, one protagonist: Fat Boy. It is he, a chubby and funny figure, who guides us on a hilarious and irreverent tour through the works of the great masters, from Raphael to Maurizio Cattelan, from Mantegna to Picasso.
With a mix of bright colours, powerful symbols and hinted eroticism, this character shows us art from a new perspective, made of irony and amazement.
Inspired by the ceramics of the pre-Columbian civilisation of the Mimbres, Fat Boy knows no temporal or stylistic boundaries: he tries his hand at uprights, lies in perfect perspective next to the works of Mantegna and imitates the contorted poses of Picasso’s girls. Nothing escapes his curious and somewhat irreverent gaze, not even Jannis Kounellis’s black rose or Raphael’s Three Graces.
Beware though, it is not just a game: through Fat Boy, Radl builds a visual narrative that spans centuries of art, merging tradition and contemporaneity in a single creative flow. In each watercolour there is a story, a detail that winks at the great masterpieces but at the same time reinvents them.
WHO IS CHRISTOPH RADL
Christoph Radl is much more than just an artist.
Born in Switzerland but adopted by Italy in the 1970s, Radl is a leading figure in international design,capable of mixing tradition and modernity with naturalness .
His career has seen him collaborate with important brands and creatives, but it is in his art that his personal vision emerges.
His passion for the Mimbres was born during research for a collection of ceramics.
This ancient New Mexico civilisation, which disappeared between 1130 and 1150 AD, bequeathed artefacts decorated with geometric patterns, hunting scenes and rituals.
It was a humanoid figure with large, wide-open eyes that struck Radl, prompting him to transform it into his Fat Boy, a timeless traveller.
Radl thus tells us about the essence of a distant universe, made up of ritual bowls placed on the faces of the dead, but at the same time returns it to us through the contemporary and playful language of his watercolours.
Where to see the works: the ‘Fat Boy’ exhibition in Milan
If you want to meet Fat Boy in person and be drawn into his artistic journey, don’t miss Christoph Radl’s solo exhibition ‘Fat Boy’. Until 28 February 2025, the spaces of the Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura gallery in Milan are transformed into a showcase for these unique works, where art history is to be explored with irony and amazement.
So, what are you waiting for? Fat Boy is waiting with open arms (and belly!) to take you where you never imagined.