Two Stories with Porch (for Robert Cobuzio)
After settling in New York in the 1970s, Dennis quickly turned from painting to three-dimensional work. With a deeply complex practice, Dennis has consistently pushed the perceived limitations of sculpture and its inevitable intersection with architecture as she considers structure, the use of found materials, and site. Two Stories with Porch (for Robert Cobuzio) mimics the appearance of a functioning house but produced at a human scale, distinguishing the work from an architectural model. Lit from inside on the second floor and on the first with a green neon "vacancy" sign, the structure suggests a welcoming yet uncanny refuge, creating an almost cinematic tableau. Based on a phone booth that Dennis saw in New Jersey, the work references her long-standing interest in vernacular American architecture and artists such as Edward Hopper and Walker Evans.
Artwork Details
- Title: Two Stories with Porch (for Robert Cobuzio)
- Artist: Donna Dennis (American, born Springfield, Ohio 1942)
- Date: 1977–79
- Medium: Acrylic and enamel on wood and Masonite, with glass, wallpaper, cellulose compound, metal screen, plastic, neon and incandescent light
- Dimensions: 10 ft. 6 in. × 10 ft. 1/2 in. × 85 in. (320 × 306.1 × 215.9 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.570
- Rights and Reproduction: © Donna Dennis 1977–79
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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