Double Sitting
Richard Artschwager
American, 1923–2013
1988
A large work that uses synthetic polymer paint on board and painted Formica to depict a corner with two rounded, built‑in seats, the artist trying to collapse the distinction between an object in space and its painted image.
You’re struck by the obsessively scored gray‑white surface that reads like rough plaster while a glossy, detailed parquet seems to recede beneath translucent, ribbon‑like chair outlines, producing an uneasy mix of flatness and low relief.
By bringing industrial materials and trompe‑l’œil into a pictorial field, Artschwager blurred painting and sculpture, forcing viewers to reconsider everyday furniture as both image and object and influencing later conceptual and postmodern practices.
Medium
Synthetic polymer paint on board and paint on formica
Dimensions
6' 3 3/8" x 67 7/8" (192 x 172.3 cm) including painted wood frame
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Agnes Gund
Accession
64.1991
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
