Self-Portrait with Nose Trophy 1985

Hans Peter Adamski made this self-portrait using paint and what appears to be gold leaf on paper. The effect is striking: the gold leaf, normally associated with luxury and high art, has been applied in a seemingly haphazard manner. It contrasts with the delicate pink wash in the background, and the brutal, heavy lines that form Adamski’s face and the laurel wreath. The application of gold leaf, a painstaking process usually reserved for icons and illuminated manuscripts, is here used for a rough, almost grotesque self-portrait. This juxtaposition throws into question conventional notions of value and skill. Perhaps Adamski is challenging the preciousness often associated with art, suggesting that even the humblest of subjects can be elevated through material transformation. The ‘nose trophy’ of the title is a playful but loaded reference, pointing perhaps to the artist’s own ego, or maybe poking fun at the traditional hierarchies of the art world. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t need to be technically perfect or traditionally beautiful to be powerful.