The Broken Dream. 2008

Erro painted The Broken Dream at some point in his life with what looks like acrylic on canvas. The colors are punchy, like comic book colors, and everything is outlined, emphasizing the flatness of the picture plane. The image is built up from flat planes of color, like a collage made of paint, and the gestures and poses are stiff, almost like cardboard cutouts. Looking closely, especially at the figure in the foreground, you can see how Erro uses line to define form and create a sense of depth, but then flattens the image again with bold colors, and a lack of shading. The paint is applied smoothly, and evenly, without any visible brushstrokes or texture, as if it were made with machines. Like his contemporary, James Rosenquist, Erro's works embrace ambiguity through its bold imagery and complex composition.