Green pitcher on Copper

Michael Rosenthal (American, b. 1946, California)
Green Pitcher on Copper, 2024
Acrylic on copper sheet

Rosenthal studied at CalArts in the 1970s with John Baldessari, Allan Kaprow, and Nam June Paik. He ran Michael Rosenthal Contemporary Art gallery in San Francisco.

A green pitcher, centered, painted in heavy impasto against vertical bands of color on copper. The copper surface gives the paint a warmth and reflectivity that canvas can't — light bounces off the metal underneath the pigment. Rosenthal paints objects from daily life with the directness of someone who has looked at paintings for fifty years and knows exactly what he wants on the surface.