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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Sunrise in Venice
Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt (American, born in 1948)
1985
Medium/Technique
Tinfoil, staples, cellophane, plastic wrap, velvet, wire, wood
Dimensions
Height x width x depth: 28 x 14 x 11 1/4 in. (71.1 x 35.6 x 28.6 cm)
Credit Line
Henry and Lois Foster Contemporary Purchase Fund
Accession Number2024.2571
ClassificationsSculpture
Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt is known for his glittering multi-media assemblages and environments constructed from tinsel, cellophane, foil, and found objects. He is firmly indebted to the visual and spiritual influences of his Catholic upbringing. Yet he simultaneously challenges this tradition, seeking its contradictions and gaps into which he inserts his queer identity.
This work, one of a series of about 30 made in the 1980s, is a quasi-reliquary (a sacred object holding relics) with the hint of a chalice shape at the center. It is usually shown under plexiglass, emphasizing the sacredness of a pseudoholy relic fashioned from base materials. Speaking of his inspiration, the artist reflected that: “I generally go to Medieval goldsmiths or Fabergé … I like the contradiction between something that is very expensive and high class and my art, which is about the same visual effect without real gold.”
This work, one of a series of about 30 made in the 1980s, is a quasi-reliquary (a sacred object holding relics) with the hint of a chalice shape at the center. It is usually shown under plexiglass, emphasizing the sacredness of a pseudoholy relic fashioned from base materials. Speaking of his inspiration, the artist reflected that: “I generally go to Medieval goldsmiths or Fabergé … I like the contradiction between something that is very expensive and high class and my art, which is about the same visual effect without real gold.”
Signed
ProvenanceConsigned by the artist to Pavel Zoubok Fine Art, LLC, New York; 2024, sold by Pavel Zoubok Fine Art, LLC, to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 9, 2024)