In an innovative process echoing the mass production of consumer goods, Castelbajac commissioned painters in China to faithfully replicate iconic Western masterpieces by artists like Bronzino and Manet. Once completed, a second group of artists painted brand logos directly onto the surfaces of these copied works. The result is a provocative collision of classical aesthetics and corporate iconography.

These altered masterpieces challenge conventional hierarchies in art, flattening distinctions between “high” and “low” culture. By merging timeless works of art with transient corporate logos, Castelbajac creates pieces that paradoxically embody both permanence and ephemerality, substance and superficiality.

In his works, Castelbajac critiques the commodification of culture and the relentless branding of contemporary life. His paintings become “perfect signs” of the current moment, reflecting a world where meaning is often overshadowed by the power of the logo. This theme aligns with Roland Barthes’ observation of “humiliated repetition” in mass culture and Karl Marx’s critique of capitalism’s perpetual transformation and destabilization of society.

The juxtaposition of timeless art and fleeting corporate imagery evokes Marx’s famous declaration: “All that is solid melts into air.” In Castelbajac’s hands, art history becomes a canvas for examining how modernity consumes, repurposes, and ultimately redefines tradition.

Castelbajac’s openness to contemporary visual culture has driven collaborations with some of the most iconic artists of our time, including Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Bettina Rheims, and Loulou Picasso. This same spirit of collaboration and experimentation is evident in Triumph of the Sign, where the act of creation is shared across continents and cultures.