About this artwork
“I push things to the point where I have no idea what’s going to happen,” painter Charline von Heyl has said. “I am interested in trying out something that might seem paradoxical and impossible … forcing them to work with grace and ease.” At 17 feet long, the elaborately titled Interventionist Demonstration (Why-a-Duck?) is her largest work to date. Part text and part painting, the canvas layers scrawled language and patterns over a field of loose, abstract gestures—like banners or bumper stickers tumbling and jostling across an atmospheric surface. The work generates a palpable energy, while harboring half-buried references to histories of the cartoon, graffiti, decorative painting, and expressive abstraction.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Contemporary Art
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Artist
- Charline von Heyl
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Title
- Interventionist Demonstration (Why-A-Duck?)
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Date
- Made 2013
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Medium
- Acrylic and spray paint on linen
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Dimensions
- 211.1 × 494 cm (83 1/8 × 194 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Helen and Sam Zell
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Reference Number
- 2015.87
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
