CIACK D’ATELIER Ep.8 – “Velvet Buzzsaw” (2019): When ART truly kills

“Every artwork wants to be seen. But some don’t want to be sold.” Welcome back to CIACK D’ATELIER, the space where cinema intertwines with art in its most unexpected forms. In this eighth episode, we explore a film that, beneath the mask of satirical horror, hides a fierce critique of the contemporary art world: Velvet Buzzsaw by Dan Gilroy.

CIACK D'ATELIER

Charlotte Madeleine CASTELLI

8/3/20252 min read

Contemporary art as predator... or prey

Released in 2019, this is a paranormal thriller set in the heart of the Los Angeles art scene: the film follows critics, curators, gallerists, and artists immersed in a world where art is no longer expression, but a commodity to be traded and manipulated.

Things spiral out of control when the work of a tormented, unknown painter, Vetril Dease, is discovered,leaving behind not only disturbing paintings but a cursed legacy: every piece that is stolen and sold becomes an instrument of death for those who exploit it.

The film thus becomes a meta-artistic work, a dark reflection on the power of art as an autonomous, living, conscious entity. No longer a passive object to be appraised or monetized, but an active subject that judges those who behold it. In this sense, Velvet Buzzsaw echoes ideas explored by artists like Mark Rothko, who opposed the museification of his work, or Jean-Michel Basquiat, who fought against the commodification of his artistic identity. Dease’s canvases are not just art: they are vengeance incarnate, memories of pain encapsulated in paint, returning to punish those who look without understanding.

The film morphs into a black comedy with a slasher structure: each figure of the art world—the elitist critic (Jake Gyllenhaal), the ruthless gallerist (Rene Russo), the ambitious assistant—falls victim to what they tried to control.

In this context, the film becomes a kind of installation performance: each death is a scene of conceptual art. One character is sucked into a mural of animated graffiti, another is devoured by a robotic sculpture. These aren’t just deaths: they’re punitive installations, aesthetic revenges.

Velvet Buzzsaw is a film that disguises itself as commercial horror to veil a corrosive message about the value of art. It critiques spectacle, curatorial snobbery, market dependence, and does so using the same tools often employed by contemporary art: provocation and paradox.

When art is desecrated, it strikes back, IN STYLE... With a glossy direction, saturated colors, and ultra-designed settings, the film builds a dazzling world that implodes upon itself. Dease’s works become the conscience of the film itself, returning violence to those who sought only profit.

In conclusion, Velvet Buzzsaw is perfect for CIACK D’ATELIER because it doesn’t just talk about art—it is an artistic reflection disguised as entertainment, a meta-cinematic exercise that shows how art can still hurt… literally.