HYDRA 'MAXIMILIAN'

Jordy Kerwick

'Hydra', Bronze, 2022
Hand finished with acrylic
5 different patina finishes
40 snakes + 5 proofs
Size W25,5 x L35,5 x H42 cm (10 x 14 x 16 1/2 inches)
Up to H60 cm (23 1/3 inches) incl. feathers
Total length of the snake is ca. 110 cm (43 1/3 inches)
Each snake is accompanied with a handcrafted presentation box and crate.

"The meaning of the double headed cobra has really evolved over time for me. Initially it started as an exercise of expedience in making a cobra with two heads to appease both of my sons, Milo and Sonny. But as time has gone by and I get older, they have become, to me, more of a symbol of youth and fight. Making things that are kinda “rock n roll” helps me to stay young at heart and head, but I also see resilience and determination in the Hydra. I’m a bizarre way, it’s a hopeful symbol to me." - Jordy Kerwick

Jordan Kerwick’s gritty, thickly impastoed paintings range from haunting figurative portraits and Cubist-inflected still lifes to more abstract, gestural works in the vein of Franz Kline or Cy Twombly. The self-taught Australian artist, now based in France, began painting in 2016—more or less on a whim, he says. Kerwick quickly found himself at the center of international success: He has shown at galleries in Melbourne, London, New York, Tokyo, and Paris. Kerwick’s disparate practice embraces a range of materials including enamel, acrylic, oil, house paint, airbrush, graphite, and charcoal. The artists’ inspirations include art historical still lifes, his family, literature, music, and the city of Los Angeles.