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Adam McEwen — Jerrycan (Water)
Adam McEwen

Jerrycan (Water)

A standard pressed steel jerrycan, coated in utilitarian blue enamel, holds twenty litres of water sourced from Marfa, Texas — a remote desert town long associated with minimalist art and mystique. McEwen transforms this functional military object into a sculptural vessel, quietly questioning notions of value, resource, and the romanticization of place. The work's understated simplicity belies a layered conceptual charge, where the contents are as integral to the piece as the container itself.

Medium
Pressed steel jerrycan with blue enamel, containing 20 litres Marfa water.

🔨 Auction Lot

Editions and Works on Paper Including Works from the Piero Crommelynck Collection

April 18, 2017

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About this work

Adam McEwen, Jerrycan (Water)

A standard pressed steel jerrycan, coated in utilitarian blue enamel, holds twenty litres of water sourced from Marfa, Texas — a remote desert town long associated with minimalist art and mystique. McEwen transforms this functional military object into a sculptural vessel, quietly questioning notions of value, resource, and the romanticization of place. The work's understated simplicity belies a layered conceptual charge, where the contents are as integral to the piece as the container itself.

Medium
Pressed steel jerrycan with blue enamel, containing 20 litres Marfa water.
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Utilitarian Aesthetic, Minimalist, Male Artist, Found Object, Industrial Material, Conceptual Art, Readymade, British Artist, Contemporary Artist, Blue Tones, Sculptural Object

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