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Oeil Still Life "This Is It" Painting
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Katherine McMahonContemporary Modernist Neon Sign Trompe L
Oeil Still Life "This Is It" Painting2025
2025
$4,500
£3,408.33
€3,914.35
CA$6,305.97
A$6,855.86
CHF 3,634.99
MX$82,184.41
NOK 46,198.81
SEK 42,324.39
DKK 29,254.82
About the Item
Important contemporary modernist painting by Katherine McMahon. From a series of neon sign still lives. Acrylic on canvas.
Artist Bio:
Katherine McMahon is an American multidisciplinary artist and photographer based in London. She was previously based in New York City and is the former Creative Director at ARTnews magazine. Her work has appeared at Guild Hall Museum (East Hampton, NY), Peter Mendenhall Gallery (Pasadena, CA) and SITE:Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY). In early 2018, she participated in a solo residency at the Elaine de Kooning House in East Hampton, NY. In 2020, she mounted 'The Roast Beef is the Story,' a presentation of paintings that thematically explored the American diner in the windows of the abandoned Silver Lining Diner in New York. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ARTNET and TimeOut New York.
Artist Statement:
In this new suite of paintings, McMahon uses the neon sign as subject matter for broadly exploring the lifecycle of
objects that function in visual culture as signifiers of wants, needs and desires–examining how their shift from ubiquity
to novelty and nostalgia reflects changes in society at large.
In their original use, the neon sign emitted hedonistic undertones in outdoor advertising to promote everything from
food to gambling to sex–activating the brain’s orienting reflex and encouraging action through color psychology,
motion and light. Aside from their literal messaging, their hum and glow contributed to the look and feel of urban
landscapes in the 20th century. They were once much more than signage—they were seductive, sensorial triggers.
These paintings celebrate neon’s golden age while taking a wider lens to the way culture facilitates the transition of
mainstream objects to cultural artifacts in the 21st century. Furthermore, this series explores the literal messaging of
neon signs, framing words and phrases as a historical record that reflects shifting priorities in consumerism and
culture from the past to the present.
‘Open Late’ explores the inverted symbology and psychological effect of presenting the sentimental, sculptural neon
sign object via the two-dimensional, flattened medium of painting. Drawing inspiration from Mark Fisher’s concept of
hauntology—the idea that the present is haunted by lost futures—McMahon considers the complexity of the neon
sign’s contemporary identity as a material casualty of the 20th century.
- Creator:
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 27.56 in (70 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 1.19 in (3 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Buffalo, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU139217085242
Katherine McMahon
Katherine McMahon is a painter, portrait photographer, and the Creative Director at ARTnews magazine. She recently completed an artist residency at the Elaine de Kooning house in East Hampton, New York. McMahon studied Fine Arts at Towson University and F.I.T. in New York City and currently lives and works between Brooklyn and East Hampton, New York.
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2010s Contemporary Still-life Paintings
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