Pedro Pascal makes surprise Margate gallery visit to see an exhibition of his face
Pedro Pascal tried to visit an exhibition featuring 17 pictures of his face, but found that the Margate gallery was closed for the day. (Getty)
A gallery owner has been left “mortified” after Pedro Pascal rocked up to Margate to see an exhibition dedicated to him – only to find that the doors were closed.
Pascal, the internet’s sweetheart and star of post-apocalyptic HBO drama The Last of Us and hotly-anticipated gay Western Strange Way of Life, turned up at the Rhodes Gallery in the English coastal town of Margate on 6 August.
The Mandalorian actor was there to see an exhibition of 17 images of his face, created by artist Heidi Gentle Burrell – but Jessica Rhodes Robb, who owns the venue with her partner Gavin Blake, was enjoying a day off.
Pascal, 48, had arrived with fellow actor and The History Boys star Russell Tovey and Robert Diament, who runs another gallery in Margate. Tovey and Diament also host an art-centric podcast called TalkArt.
The trio settled for a selfie instead.
Gentle Burrell was still delighted that Pascal had made the trip at all, describing it as a “lovely feeling” that the star is aware of her work. She added that gallery owner Robb “deserves a day off”.
The exhibition, called ‘ADHD Hyper Fixation And Why It Looks Like I Love Pedro Pascal’, is true to its name. Gentle Burrell has ADHD, and became hyper-fixated on Pascal.
She hopes the muse will return to see her work, so she can explain what that means.
“It would be fantastic of course, if he came back and saw it and I’d love to be able to bore him all about ADHD and reassure him that I’m not obsessed, that it is just part of my fixation. It would be lovely to be able to show him around,” she told the PA news agency.
Gentle Burrell is also adding a second part to the exhibition, which she hopes will encourage the Chilean-American actor to return.
Having spent “more than six months staring at his face”, Burrell would love to see Pascal’s aforementioned visage in real life. She added: “I think every artist would feel the same.
“You don’t ever do something for validation but we’re only human, so to have someone appreciate what you’ve done is, of course, an absolutely lovely feeling.”
“I understand why some people think it is an obsession, but from a drawing point of view, he’s got interesting characteristics to his face.”
Heidi Gentle Burell
After all, Pascal can have the ultimate say on whether the artwork looks like him.
Gentle Burrell said: “To have your actual subject look at themselves [in your artwork] – a person is so familiar with themselves in a mirror, they’re the only person that can really say whether you’ve got a likeness.”
The artist stresses that she is not obsessed with Pascal: “I understand why some people think it is an obsession, but from a drawing point of view, he’s got interesting characteristics to his face,” she continued.
Sharing the selfie of Pascal, Tovey and Diament on their Instagram, Rhodes Gallery wrote: “The ultimate event has officially happened!
“Pedro Pascal himself, Robert Diament and Russel Tovey taking selfies in front of Heidi’s show at our gallery. Wonderful and amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
In another post, they shared how proud they are of Gentle Burell, writing: “Heidi has received the recognition she rightly deserves as a wonderfully talented artist. We’re so proud of her and couldn’t be more pleased.”
‘ADHD Hyper Fixation And Why It Looks Like I Love Pedro Pascal’ runs until 1 September.
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