Paul McCarthy’s SS EE Saint Santa Eva Elf at Hauser & Wirth Paris
At Hauser & Wirth Paris, Paul McCarthy's exhibition SS EE Saint Santa Eva Elf runs until 31 May, showcasing large-scale drawings alongside a six-channel video installation. This work features performances with German actress Lilith Stangenberg, who embodies the character Eva Elf. For over thirty years, McCarthy has utilized his Santa Claus persona to critique themes of capitalism and consumerism. The drawing sessions were conducted on the set of his previous WS White Snow series, which reconstructs his childhood home in Salt Lake City. The pair created 15–20 substantial drawings through improvisation. The exhibition also highlights earlier A&E drawings (2020–22) at Bowman Hal gallery in Madrid until 16 May. Despite the destruction of his Los Angeles home and studios in the January 2025 fires, McCarthy continues to produce art, describing it as a response to extreme absurdity and likening Donald Trump to a cartoon. Born in Salt Lake City in 1945, he is represented by Hauser & Wirth, Xavier Hufkens, and Max Hetzler.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Paris runs until 31 May.
- McCarthy collaborates with Lilith Stangenberg as Eva Elf.
- Drawings were made during improvised filmed performances.
- Set reproduces McCarthy’s childhood home from White Snow series.
- McCarthy lost his home and studios in Los Angeles fires in January 2025.
- Concurrent exhibition at Bowman Hal, Madrid until 16 May.
- McCarthy critiques capitalism and consumption through Santa Claus.
- He describes Trump as a 'violent destructive insanity'.
Entities
Artists
- Paul McCarthy
- Lilith Stangenberg
- Damon McCarthy
- Mara McCarthy
- Walt Disney
- Snow White
- Queen Elizabeth II
- George W. Bush
- Willem de Kooning
- Adolf Hitler
- Donald Trump
- Jason Rhoades
Institutions
- Hauser & Wirth
- Bowman Hal
- University of Utah
- San Francisco Art Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Exhibitions
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Venice Biennale
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
- New Museum, New York
- Tate Liverpool
- Tate Modern, London
- Whitechapel Gallery, London
- Haus der Kunst, Munich
- Moderna Museet, Stockholm
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
- Park Avenue Armory, New York
- M Woods Museum, Beijing
- Kode, Bergen
- Xavier Hufkens
- Max Hetzler
- The Art Newspaper
- The Journal Gallery
- SOLO contemporary art space
- Hauser & Wirth Paris
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Madrid
- Spain
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Salt Lake City
- Utah
- San Francisco
- California
- New York
- Liverpool
- London
- Munich
- Stockholm
- Beijing
- Bergen