{"id":126522,"date":"2025-05-28T07:05:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T11:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=126522"},"modified":"2025-05-27T22:55:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T02:55:26","slug":"peanut-the-squirrel-magas-cutest-martyr-immortalized-in-statue-in-nyc-art-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/peanut-the-squirrel-magas-cutest-martyr-immortalized-in-statue-in-nyc-art-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"Peanut the Squirrel: MAGA’s Cutest Martyr Immortalized in Statue in NYC Art Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK, N.Y., May 28, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A movement\u2019s beloved squirrel is being unveiled as a heroic MAGA icon in New York\u2019s Chelsea gallery district. In \u201cOpposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art,\u201d Peanut the Squirrel is memorialized in a gruesome form as a tiny martyr alongside political titans Elon Musk, RFK Jr., and President Donald Trump, ready to do their bidding for a fantastical third-term campaign, the Iconoclast Room announced today.<\/p>\n

\"Peanut
Image caption: Peanut the Squirrel in “Project 29: The MAGAnaut,” featured in “Opposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art” at Chelsea Gallery District, New York. Underlying art shown in images is Copr. © Daniel Edwards.<\/em><\/p>\n

Peanut\u2019s story began in 2024, when city officials euthanized a squirrel suspected of rabies. What could have been a fleeting public health incident was transformed by MAGA outrage and a viral post by Elon Musk into a right-wing folk tale of \u201cgovernment overreach.\u201d<\/p>\n

In \u201cOpposing Visions,\u201d a MAGA-hat-clad Peanut reappears at the base of Daniel Edwards\u2019s \u201cProject 29: The MAGAnaut<\/a>\u201d – a towering, grotesque cyborg hybrid of Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr.<\/p>\n

Here, Peanut haunts the exhibit in a kind of afterlife, clawing for relevance from beyond the grave. \u201cPeanut is back to exact revenge on the liberal government that killed him,\u201d Post-Internet artist XVALA says. \u201cHe\u2019s the spirit of the culture war\u2014scrappy, and unwilling to stay dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

XVALA\u2019s own contribution is a gold-plated bronze MAGA hat designed for ceremonial display atop the Resolute Desk, offering a reverent counterpoint to Edwards\u2019s dystopian satire. Where Edwards skewers Trump\u2019s persistence with a grotesque vision of biotech-fueled power, XVALA treats the MAGA movement as revolutionary heritage. This tension between dark satire and genuine veneration animates the volatile heart of Opposing Visions.<\/p>\n

Alongside Edwards and XVALA, Jarva Land\u2019s stark pen-and-ink courtroom sketches of Trump\u2019s ongoing legal battles add a sobering counterpoint – a reminder of the real-world consequences behind the pageantry.<\/p>\n

\"Peanut
Image caption: “Opposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art” at Chelsea Gallery District, New York.<\/em><\/p>\n

WHEN AND WHERE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experience \u201cOpposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art\u201d at the Iconoclast Room, located in the West Chelsea Building at 526 W 26th Street, Room 511, New York, NY. The exhibition runs from May 27\u201331, 2025.<\/p>\n

There will be a press opportunity on Thursday and Friday mornings, an art gallery walk on Thursday evening, and an Artists\u2019 Reception on Friday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

LEARN MORE: https:\/\/www.iconoclastroom.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

For press inquiries, interview requests, or additional information, please contact us at iconoclastroom@gmail.com<\/a> or call (646) 657-8028.<\/p>\n

VIDEO (YouTube): https:\/\/youtu.be\/HZzAMu4CbUw<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE LINKS FOR MEDIA:<\/p>\n

[1] https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0528-s2p-de-peanut-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0528-s2p-de-maganaut-peanut01-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0528-s2p-de-maganaut-peanut02-300dpi.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos Caption: Peanut the Squirrel in \u201cProject 29: The MAGAnaut,\u201d featured in \u201cOpposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art\u201d at Chelsea Gallery District, New York. Underlying art shown in images is Copr. \u00a9 Daniel Edwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u200bNEW YORK, N.Y., May 28, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — A movement’s beloved squirrel is being unveiled as a heroic MAGA icon in New York’s Chelsea gallery district. In “Opposing Visions: The Trump Era in Art,” Peanut the Squirrel is memorialized in a gruesome form as a tiny martyr alongside political titans Elon Musk, RFK Jr., and President Donald Trump, ready to do their bidding for a fantastical third-term campaign, the Iconoclast Room announced today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10047,"featured_media":126519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[280,12804,37,8,587,389,40],"tags":[6177],"class_list":["post-126522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture-news","category-ap","category-entertainment-news","category-new-york-news","category-offbeat-news","category-pop-culture-news","category-video-news-release","tag-xvala","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":5420,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10047"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126522"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126527,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126522\/revisions\/126527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}