-Mary Roebling 1963

Anthony Greenwood made this sculpture, Mary Roebling, out of cast metal. The paint is applied in a way that feels both precise and slightly rough around the edges, a quality I love! Look at the way the artist has built up layers of paint on the red platform, it has this incredible texture like thick impasto. This contrasts with the sleek, almost shiny finish on Mary’s blue suit. See how the sculpture as a whole is a dialogue between different surfaces, a conversation about materiality, and the way we experience objects through touch and sight. The gesture of slotting money into the bank feels so loaded, an act of faith in institutions, labor, and the promise of saving. For me, the color palette, the slightly naive rendering of form, it all reminds me of the work of Red Grooms, who also used a similar approach to explore the intersection of art, commerce, and everyday life.