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Charles Long — Pink Blob
Charles Long

Pink Blob

2012

Pink Blob presents a softly luminous, organically shaped form rendered in tempera paint over an aluminum and fiberglass body, its blush tones hovering somewhere between the biological and the architectural. Long has long occupied a space where sculpture courts the body not merely as a viewer but as a participant, and this work makes that dynamic literal through its integration of touch-sensitive sensors embedded within the pipe railing structure that frames and partially scaffolds the piece. When approached or contacted, the work responds, collapsing the conventional distance between object and audience and turning the act of looking into something closer to a conversation. The piece belongs to a broader lineage in Long's practice that investigates how abstraction can carry emotional and physiological weight, how a simple, bulbous silhouette can read as both alien and deeply familiar. The material combination here is carefully considered, pairing the handmade warmth of tempera with the industrial precision of aluminum and fiberglass in a way that refuses any easy categorization. At 254 centimeters in length, the work commands physical presence without aggression, inviting sustained attention rather than demanding it. Originally presented at Madison Square Park, Pink Blob carries the provenance of a site-responsive public commission, which adds meaningful context to its biography as a collectible object. Its signed status, combined with its interactive history and sculptural complexity, positions it as a significant and relatively rare example of Long's mature output, one that rewards both intimate domestic encounter and institutional display.

Medium
Tempera paint, aluminum and fiberglass, pipe railings, touch-sensitive sensors
Overall
Signed
Yes

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About this work

Charles Long, Pink Blob, 2012

Pink Blob presents a softly luminous, organically shaped form rendered in tempera paint over an aluminum and fiberglass body, its blush tones hovering somewhere between the biological and the architectural. Long has long occupied a space where sculpture courts the body not merely as a viewer but as a participant, and this work makes that dynamic literal through its integration of touch-sensitive sensors embedded within the pipe railing structure that frames and partially scaffolds the piece. When approached or contacted, the work responds, collapsing the conventional distance between object and audience and turning the act of looking into something closer to a conversation. The piece belongs to a broader lineage in Long's practice that investigates how abstraction can carry emotional and physiological weight, how a simple, bulbous silhouette can read as both alien and deeply familiar. The material combination here is carefully considered, pairing the handmade warmth of tempera with the industrial precision of aluminum and fiberglass in a way that refuses any easy categorization. At 254 centimeters in length, the work commands physical presence without aggression, inviting sustained attention rather than demanding it. Originally presented at Madison Square Park, Pink Blob carries the provenance of a site-responsive public commission, which adds meaningful context to its biography as a collectible object. Its signed status, combined with its interactive history and sculptural complexity, positions it as a significant and relatively rare example of Long's mature output, one that rewards both intimate domestic encounter and institutional display.

Medium
Tempera paint, aluminum and fiberglass, pipe railings, touch-sensitive sensors
Dimensions
overall: 66 x 101.6 x 254 cm
Year
2012
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Madison Square Park

Related themes

Mohn Art Collective

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