Door/Door

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Door/Door

1984-1985

Richard Artschwager (American, 1923–2013)

Richard Artschwager’s sculptures mediate between the unknown and the familiar by transforming functional items, often furniture, into blatantly futile art objects. Here Artschwager proposes perceptible stand-ins for traditional materials: brown Formica substitutes for wood, which Formica frequently replaced in the 1980s, while hand-painted black-and-white acrylic swirls mimic marble. The doubling of the doors in different scales and the lack of architectural detail other than protruding steps and Gothic pointed arches render Door/Door nondescript, allowing form and function to give way to humor and irony.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Door/Door

Date:

1984-1985

Artist:

Richard Artschwager (American, 1923–2013)

Medium:

Acrylic paint and Formica on wood

Dimensions:

6 feet 3 inches × 11 feet 3 inches × 7 1/2 inches (190.5 × 342.9 × 19.1 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

Gift of Henry S. McNeil, Jr., 1998

Accession Number:

1998-128-1

Geography:

Made in North and Central America

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Currently not on view

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