
2 works: (i) Meditation on a Can of Vernors; (ii) Lighthouse-Lantern 1
Two works on paper by Mike Kelley combine ink and pencil in his characteristically irreverent and conceptually charged style. *Meditation on a Can of Vernors* turns the mundane subject of a regional soda can into an object of absurd philosophical contemplation, while *Lighthouse-Lantern 1* renders an architectural detail with a raw, sketch-like energy. Together, the works reflect Kelley's enduring interest in vernacular culture, everyday objects, and the tension between highbrow artistic tradition and low-culture imagery.
- Medium
- ink and pencil on paper
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
New Now
December 9, 2015
More by Mike Kelley
Artists in conversation

Raymond Pettibon
American · b. 1957

Pettibon works extensively in ink and pencil on paper, combining hand drawn imagery with text to create conceptually loaded works that mine vernacular culture and everyday objects with deadpan humor and an outsider aesthetic closely matching Kelley's approach in these drawings.

Jim Shaw
American · b. 1952

Shaw shares Kelley's deep engagement with American popular culture and mundane consumer objects rendered through a raw sketch like drawing style, producing works on paper that blend conceptual art strategies with lowbrow cultural references and absurdist philosophical undertones.

Christopher Wool
American · b. 1955

Wool's works on paper combine text based imagery with monochromatic drawing techniques and a postmodern sensibility that interrogates the tension between high art and vernacular culture, echoing the conceptual charge and deadpan irreverence found in Kelley's ink and pencil pieces.
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