Oliver Clegg

UNTITLED #7

2016
oil and transparent gesso on canvas
66 x 66 inches

For almost any viewer old enough to engage with the work there cannot fail to be an immediate sense of nostalgic familiarity that is simultaneously balanced with sadness – the characters that we have all loved and grown up with are now seemingly in decline. – Oliver Clegg

Painting deflated icons of childhood as dramatically as the folds of fabric in classical paintings, British artist Oliver Clegg injects gravitas into pop culture cartoons from the 20th century. In this painting, the wrinkled Mylar balloon of Hello Kitty floats on top of the visible canvas surface. Her face looks down and away from the viewer, adding to the melancholy of the work.