Urban Chaos. 2008

Erro created this piece, Urban Chaos, with paint, but how? Looking at the composition, it feels like a conversation between lots of ideas, an argument even. I can imagine the artist being in a state of total excitement, layering on the images, pushing and pulling, maybe not knowing exactly where they were going, but trusting the energy of the chaos. The paint is quite flat, not much impasto here. It's the boldness of the outlines, the juxtaposition of imagery, that really makes this painting sing. Look how Wonder Woman appears again and again, framed as if in a mirror, perhaps she is contemplating her identity? I wonder if Erro was inspired by other Pop artists like Lichtenstein, who also used comic book imagery in his paintings? Artists borrow, steal, and riff off each other all the time, it’s part of the fun. Ultimately, painting is a way of embracing ambiguity, and uncertainty. It invites multiple readings and meanings.