Rachel Harrison
American, born 1966
Pablo Escobar
INV-2054
Rachel Harrison
American, born 19662010
Pablo Escobar
Rachel Harrison American, born 1966 →21st Centurywoodsculpture
Date
2010
Medium
Wood, polystyrene, cement, acrylic, and ceramic peppers
Dimensions
251.5 × 55.9 × 58.4 cm (99 × 22 × 23 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Nancy Lauter McDougal and Alfred L. McDougal
Since the mid-1990s, Rachel Harrison has produced abstract, handmade constructions of wood, cement, polystryene and paint that often sereve as supports for found photos and objects. Stubbornly physical yet highly conceptual, Harrison’s sculptures evoke ancient memorials and reflect the influence of today's celebrity-centric culture.
Pablo Escobar belongs to a handful of sculptures named for prominent men including former vice president Al Gore, golfer Tiger Woods, and singer-songwriter Antoine "Fats" Domino, among others. Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (1949–1993) was a Colombian drug lord once regarded as the richest and most successful criminal in history. This vividly painted work, with its drooping bouquet of ceramic chili peppers, stands as a biting critique of cultural representations and stereotypes.
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