New collage by artist Paul McCarthy

To judge by the crowd surrounding Paul McCarthy — comely blonde painter Rita Ackermann, designer Cynthia Rowley, Purple Magazine editor Olivier Zahm and painter Nate Lowman, sans girlfriend Mary Kate Olsen — you’d rightly assume that this elf looking man with the white beard was no grandfatherly type. Far from it. McCarthy, who just opened a solo show uptown in NYC, builds collages with covers of Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, and male Armani models next to scrawls of sexual positions and caricatures of Disney characters. Perhaps that’s why Lowman’s girlfriend the Olsen twin stayed far away, as not to inspire McCarthy to any fantasies. He defiles images of innocence as well as the gods and goddesses of our society. He’s one of the most collected artists in the world right now. Gazing at his walls, you’d think everyone was a sex addict. You get the combined effect of finding a Playboy in a secret bottom drawer and a comic book all at once.

(To see what the fuss is about: Paul McCarthy, White Snow, Hauser & Wirth, 32 East 69th Street,  4 November — December 24, 2009, 10 am — 6 pm, Tuesday — Saturday.)

Snow White… by Paul McCarthy