Roger Brown USA, 1941-1997
They Call This an Expressway?, 1986
Oil on canvas
72 x 48 x 1 1/2 in
182.9 x 121.9 x 3.8 cm
182.9 x 121.9 x 3.8 cm
8273
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They Call This an Expressway? epitomizes Roger Brown's signature visual style, with its layers of ominous, red and black clouds, linear stretches of grey highways, repeating rows of green grass...
They Call This an Expressway? epitomizes Roger Brown's signature visual style, with its layers of ominous, red and black clouds, linear stretches of grey highways, repeating rows of green grass and lines of boxy cars with yellow windows inhabited by shadowy figures. Painted in 1986, it belongs to one of Brown's most beloved series, a body of work that takes as its subject road trip culture in America. Brown grew up taking road trips with his mother. Here we see the reality of cramped cars and suffocating traffic contradicting the mythos of wide open spaces, stunning nature, and whimsical roadside attractions. This piece revisits a common aesthetic theme in Brown's work, of a strong vertical composition dominated by tall, vertical forms. The image mimics similar works set in crowded urban environments. The stifling feeling of traffic, ironically ground to a halt on something called an expressway, playfully pokes fun at the idea of people escaping the crowded cities for a trip to the country.
