Soap Stars. 2008

Erro, born in 1932, made this painting titled 'Soap Stars' with a vibrant clash of colors, like a cartoon world exploding onto the canvas. Looking at this painting I can imagine Erro in his studio, surrounded by stacks of comics, magazines, and newspapers. See how the crisp lines and blocks of pure color give a sense of collage, of cut-and-paste, and of pop culture overload. What does it mean to take a bunch of familiar imagery and jam it all together? The theatrical stage and guns, that's about power and drama. I think about how Erro, as a painter, is orchestrating all these characters, setting the stage for a showdown of symbols. It reminds me of how much painting is about making choices, about deciding what to keep and what to cut, and how it all adds up to a story. Ultimately, I see a kind of painterly freedom in Erro’s work. It is like he's saying, "anything is possible on the canvas."