About this artwork
The installation ‘RED ROOM’ includes 890 different red items ranging from a harmonium organ and a fake stove to kitchen utensils and clothing, all tightly and carefully organised into a small closet. Collected over seven years, objects that hold private significance to the artist, such as his brother’s summer-camp sweatshirt, are placed alongside more generic pieces, all linked by the same tone of red. The colour red holds many connotations, from blood to roses, and from Christmas to Valentines. Here, the intense colour also suggests the saturation of an abstract painting, yet also provokes an uncanny and unsettling experience given the domestic nature of the interior and objects.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Robert Therrien (1947 - 2019) American
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title:RED ROOM
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date created:2000 - 2007
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materials:Organ, radio, telephone, wall clock, grill, kitchen utensils, clothes, shoes and other materials
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measurements:243.84 x 195.60 x 266.70 cm
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object type:
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credit line:ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
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accession number:AR00702
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gallery:
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glossary:
Robert Therrien
Robert Therrien
The American artist Therrien is renowned for his large-scale sculpture installations of common objects that subvert the viewers’ notion of the familiar, and encourage them to reconsider their perception of space. His early works were based on instantly identifiable motifs, which were simplified and...