The work Sombrero describes a display strategy of ciudadoso descuidado (careful carelessness) in which objects are arranged to look random, but are actually carefully arranged. The work consists of a large rotulo of a cartoon—taken from a 1930s New Yorker magazine—showing two ageing ladies preparing a display for a craft fair. One character describes how she would like to achieve the effect of a “sombrero carelessly thrown down.” In addition to its interesting cultural overtones, Sombrero provokes an awareness of exhibition display, including the arrangement of the panel on which the work itself is painted —”carelelessly” leaning against the wall.
Terence Gower, 2002
Enamel on wood panel
244 x 183 x 5 cm
Rotulista (sign painter): Henrique Huerta
Photograph: Amanda Holmes
