In the Dark of Knight

In the empty space delineated by a two-color frame in coarse wood, a strange, archaic kouros stands out on the black backdrop, his head replaced by a cartoon-like fist. The hieratic solemnity of the ancient sculpture is disrupted by the cartoon—a recurrent motif in Llyn Foulke's work—and the presence of the word “trash” in the bottom right-hand corner of the composition.

The result of a bold mixed technique of painting and collage that Llyn Foulkes has been exploring since the 1950s, this artwork is imbued with the American artist's playfulness and culture. In the Dark of Knight, which nods to early Dadaist collages as well as some Pop Art practices in that it uses motifs and materials from daily life and popular culture, is a celebration of the absurd. It also demolishes the idea that art has a unique aura.

This artwork is part of a series of a dozen artworks by Llyn Foulkes held in the Pinault Collection and presented together in the group show À Triple tour (“triple locked”) at the Paris Conciergerie, in 2013.