Cultured magazine profiles legendary 80-year-old artist Paul McCarthy during his Paris exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, titled “SS EE Saint Santa Eva Elf.” The article follows the journalist's three-day pursuit of McCarthy, covering a screening of his films *A&E Adolf & Eva/ Adam & Eve Cooking Show* (2022/2023) and *A&E Adolf & Eva/Adam & Eve Mother* (2022/2025), which feature psychosexual themes referencing Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun alongside Adam and Eve, co-starring actor Lilith Stangenberg. The exhibition includes large raw drawings created during improvised, multi-camera performances with Stangenberg, where they play twisted Santa and elf characters. McCarthy also has concurrent shows at The Journal Gallery in Los Angeles and SOLO contemporary art space in Madrid.
McCarthy's work matters because he has profoundly influenced generations of artists by unearthing collective repressed trauma and social taboos with a dark sense of humor, often defiling American cultural icons and consumerism. The article highlights the contrast between his visceral, sexualized, and absurd art and his reputation as an incredibly kind person. McCarthy's critique of normalized societal misery is underscored by his observations of unhoused people near his Los Angeles studio, which survived recent fires while his home and another studio did not. The piece underscores how McCarthy forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths, making his art both challenging and essential.