Ziet eruit als water

This painting is part of the Retro Fantastic series, presented at the Dutch Design Hotel Artemis in Amsterdam in 2019, themed around the wonderful 1950s and 60s. A time when the future seemed promising, space was being conquered, science was the key to progress, nuclear weapons were seen as instruments of power, and plastic was the material of the future.

On the canvas, nostalgic images from those "good old days" are confronted with a different, more critical reality. The composition includes an original 1956 advertisement from Union Carbide, presenting a new chemical substance, acrylonitrile. In the advertisement, the slogan read: "Looks like water but it's really an amazing chemical bringing you wonderful new textile fibres, plastics and rubbers…”, a telling symbol of the boundless belief in technological progress and its shadow side.

The work is a mixed media piece on canvas measuring 120 x 120 cm, built up from collage transfer and paint. Materials: acrylic paint, glue, paper, ink, pen, pastel, and felt-tip marker. The original composition on paper was enlarged, mirrored, and transferred onto the canvas, after which it was finished with pastels and paint.

Signed and delivered with a certificate of authenticity.

Questions about this painting? Feel free to contact us.
Colors of the original may vary slightly from the photos.

View the full Marian Williams collection and her bio here.