Gift Wrapped Doll #37, 1997

James Rosenquist made “Gift Wrapped Doll #37” using oil paint on canvas, a traditional pairing, though here to unsettling effect. Rosenquist started as a billboard painter, and brought that trade to his fine art practice. The doll's face emerges from a shroud of translucent plastic. The paint is applied with a smooth, almost airbrushed quality, a technique that evokes commercial art. Note how Rosenquist has rendered the crinkles and reflections with such precision. This suggests not only the seductive allure of consumer goods, but the artist’s mastery of his chosen medium, laboring over this canvas to achieve hyperrealism. Rosenquist brings techniques from the world of advertising to the gallery space, which forces us to consider painting in relation to consumer culture. Ultimately, “Gift Wrapped Doll #37” invites us to examine the materials and processes behind both art and commerce.