By Sarah Douglas
"Some artists met with their musical counterparts to discuss the project. Kehinde Wiley made a portrait of Dr. Dre outfitted in armor; the two met and spoke extensively. Less extensive than those exchanges, but still significant, were those between Jenna Gribbon and Lana Del Rey. Gribbon requested Born to Die, and discovered that Del Rey was a fan of her work. “We talked about ideas, and the painting happened really organically,” Gribbon said. The piece is connected to a series Gribbon showed in London a year ago where she paired her own work with work from the estate of French filmmaker Agnès Varda. “It was all about my relationship to Varda’s work, and watching my friends encounter her work—showing my friends her work and watching them watch it.” She took the same approach with Del Rey’s image, depicting her partner, the musician Mackenzie Scott (known as Torres) gazing at a projected image of Del Rey. “We had a long conversation after she saw it,” Gribbon added of Del Rey. “She wanted to tell me how much she loved it. The painting is also a gay fantasy, which I like. It’s really fun for me and also great for the gay community to have a Lana Del Rey record for themselves.”"