When Simon Met Sucklord

Before we begin, I have to take a moment to share what may be Bravo's most brilliant commercial yet:

If that doesn't get you pumped for Season 2, nothing will. Well on second thought, hearing Simon de Pury say "Sucklord"over and over again is truly a delight (much like hearing Simon say just about anything).

In any event, this season's got me stoked! And since a picture (or a sculpture, or some "visceral tableaux") is worth a thousand words, I'll be using some of our artists' work to help sum up what we've seen each week.

Right off the bat, we're introduced to the fourteen artists via their self-portraits. Michelle does some really amazing sculpture with paper, Kathryn's gaga for gore, Bayete argues with himself about whether or not to be on the show... and then there's the Sucklord. Yep, that's his name, and we'll try not to wear it out (no promises). Lest you get the idea that he's some sort of evil super villain (as I suppose his self-portrait might suggest), check out this unseen footage of him breaking bread pineapple with Tewz. Clearly there's a softer side to the Sucklord.

Tewz's mad scientist froggy Frankenstein creation is the perfect piece to encapsulate the challenge of transforming kitshcy bad art into a gallery-worthy piece. (So kudos to you, Tewz.) While I'm glad there was the expected dogs-playing-cards painting, I really find those weird, 3-D pieces that have yarn hair really creepy. Creepier though was how Dusty managed to seemlessly swap out that clown's face for his own. We also had the first round of tears when Lola broke down about her lack of direction. More to come (feel free to go back to the previous page for a refresher)!In the end, Michelle snuck off with the win much like Lola made off with those birds in Jazz-Minh's painting. The paper sculpting she does is really impressive, but it will be interesting to see what else she can do. And alas, the incredibly dreamy French artist who stole the heart of basically anyone with eyes (and ears -- that accent!), Ugo, was sent packing for his uninspired piece. I wonder if he would have been the one to go home had he removed that red background? Coulda, woulda, shoulda I suppose...

Next week the artists make Simon angry. And you won't like Simon when he's angry.