I think my generation was perhaps the last not to have electronic devices as the default standard of toy. In my day – gah! – we played with boxes of old “stuff”, the kind of treasure trove for the imagination that was unearthed from the back of your grandparents cupboard, in which every object could be reborn as a vehicle, weapon or character when viewed with a child’s eye. Alfred Steiner‘s works are a sort of grown up version of that creative process. There were no skeletal feet or actual guns in those boxes of stuff; Steiner’s unusual creations come together from a similar assortment of odds and ends, but the old coins, balls and shells are joined in his world by body parts, pills and cigarettes, bird’s heads and bones.
Likelihood of Confusion refers to the nebulous law of trademark infringement, reflecting on the nature of media and advertising. Steiner reconstructs familiar graphic forms with a juxtaposition of naturalistic images, searching for a corresponding contour through a Freudian technique of free association. Using this method he recreates a likeness of logos, service marks and such, inviting the viewer to form their own opinions about the choice and combination of objects. The series of watercolours and oils is being shown at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, until 15 November. We’ll never look at Jon Pasche’s 1970 Rolling Stones logo the same again…
Alfred Steiner
Mouth, 2014
Watercolor on Arches 140 lb.
Hot press paper
43 x 39 inches
Alfred Steiner
Mouse II (U.S. Reg. No. 85,972,976), 2014
Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. (300 gsm)
Hot press paper
9 x 12 inches
Alfred Steiner
Bear, 2014
Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. (640 gsm)
Hot Press Paper
30 x 22 inches
Alfred Steiner
Target, 2014
Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. (640 gsm)
Hot press paper
30 x 22 inches
Alfred Steiner
Mouse (U.S. Reg. No. 2,781.693), 2014
Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. (640 gsm)
Hot press paper
9 x 12 inches
Alfred Steiner
Ale, 2014
Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. (640 gsm)
Hot Press Paper
30 x 22 inches
Alfred Steiner
Vulva, 2014
Watercolor on Arches 300 lb. (640 gsm)
Hot press paper
30 x 22 inches
