Lamp

A shaded lamp casts a bright pink glow on an enigmatic scene. This figurative painting by Philip Guston has an abstract background. It tells an intensely metaphorical story rooted in the suggestive, meaningful image represented by the lamp.

The unclassifiable Guston returned to figurative art in the late 1960s, adopting a childish style close to comic books. He painted everyday items like books, shoes and lamps in spaces occupied by Ku Klux Klan members, recalling his early political commitments. The 1974 work Lamp, bathed in the red hues favoured by the artist, is characteristic of this period. Symbolising modernity, light sources are a recurring motif in his late work.

Philip Guston's Lamp is being presented for the first time by the Pinault Collection during the “Untitled, 2020” show at the Punta della Dogana in Venice (2020).