The Dry Cleaning Store

The USA experienced an economic boom after the Second World War, and the rapid urbanisation raised issues concerning contemporary lifestyles. The art scene had long been dominated by non-figurative abstract expressionism. Now, young American artists were trying to reintroduce reality in art.

In George Segal’s work, pop meets social realism. He was frustrated by how the frame of a painting sets spatial limits, and consequently began making full-sized sculptures. A new quick-drying type of plaster bandages enabled him to make casts of his models, usually family members or friends. Segal portrays everyday situations, moments that convey a sense of what it means to be human. The self-absorption of his plaster figures seems to capture the lack of contact between people. The neon sign and window of The Dry Cleaning Store have taken over the role communicating, while the individual is reduced to a provider of services. This work was shown at Moderna Museet for the first time in the exhibition New York Collection for Stockholm.