Still Life #41

Tom Wesselmanns Still Life #41 from 1964 is a sculpture of synthetic polymer paint on wood and plastic that exemplifies the Pop artists approach to the still life genre, in which the traditional subjects of still life painting, fruit, flowers, and household objects, are translated into three-dimensional form with the bold colors and simplified shapes that distinguish Pop Art from its historical antecedents. Wesselmann, who was one of the founding figures of American Pop Art alongside Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and James Rosenquist, developed the Great American Nude and Still Life series as his two primary subjects, creating works that combine the visual language of commercial illustration and advertising with the compositional formats of traditional painting. Still Life #41 presents the objects of the traditional still life in three-dimensional form, creating a sculpture that occupies real space rather than representing it on a flat surface, a transformation that challenges the distinction between painting and sculpture that had been one of the fundamental categories of Western art. The synthetic polymer paint on wood and plastic, materials that are associated with commercial production rather than fine art, reinforces the Pop Art challenge to the distinction between high art and popular culture. The year 1964 places this sculpture in the period of Wesselmanns greatest public recognition, when his Still Life and Great American Nude series were being exhibited in major galleries and museums.

Wesselmanns sculptural still lifes are significant contributions to the history of Pop Art and the broader tradition of art that challenges the distinction between painting and sculpture. Still Life #41 demonstrates the combination of Pop visual language and traditional compositional formats that makes his work significant.

A 1964 sculpture by Wesselmann of synthetic polymer paint on wood and plastic, translating the traditional still life genre into three-dimensional Pop Art form that challenges the distinction between painting and sculpture with commercial materials and bold simplified shapes.