Pedro Vélez: "Hyperbole" by Kate Brandt and Pedro Velez, curated by Danielle Rosen at Galerie M. InterContinental Hotel, Milwaukee

Brandt's Brand

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At a secretive press conference held Friday, February 4th, in an undisclosed location, Kate Brandt publicly announced that she will attend the opening at the InterContinental. Several art world know-it-alls have suggested that this appearance is an attempt to mend her relationship with Chicago-based critic, Pedro Vélez.

Last March, Brandt curated an exhibition entitled Kate Brandt Pink. Following the lead of the notoriously autocratic Yves Klein, participating artists were forced to comply with the imperious diva’s pink palette. Kate Brandt Pink became Brandt’s new brand. Public appearances have been sparse but noteworthy since the curator’s debut, including a photo op at the Performance Art Showcase in which Brandt posed on a pedestal with her back to the star-struck audience waiting behind padded ropes. Pedro Vélez, who was personally invited to the event by Brandt, refused to pose next to her and called the performance a “pitiful publicity stunt” in a review of the Performance Art Showcase.

That Vélez has flustered yet another art world persona is hardly outlandish. In a Newcity Art review Jason Foumberg wrote, “Vélez has a history of upsetting people, über-collector Rosa de la Cruz shouted ‘You’ll never work in the U.S. again!’ after he appropriated her name for one of his artworks, a showcard for a fictional exhibition in which she was unwittingly listed as a participant.” As a multidisciplinary artist and critic, Vélez has been known to debase the power dynamics that art world ‘celebrities,’ like Brandt, rely upon when attempting to control culture through hierarchical displays of money and status.