Johnson Wax Building
Richard Artschwager
American, 1923–2013
1974
A large acrylic-on-board painting (with a metal frame) in which Richard Artschwager renders the Johnson Wax Building’s interior as a condensed, tactile field of repeated marks that turns familiar architecture into a blurred, object-like image.
Up close the surface reads as thousands of looped, stamp‑like strokes forming a vibrating gray texture; from a step back the mushroom columns and rows of desks coalesce into a ghostly, photographic interior.
By translating a modernist interior into a repetitive, industrial-looking surface, Artschwager links Pop and Minimalist concerns—making depiction itself feel like an object and prompting us to reconsider how we see built space.
Medium
Acrylic on board with metal frame
Dimensions
47 1/2 x 59 1/2" (120.7 x 151.1 cm) including frame
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Edward R. Broida
Accession
648.2005
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
