A. Morton 
SPRING / BREAK Art Show will feature Paula Crown‘s ‘Chalice.’ This gleaming golden 7-foot cup, which references mythical holy objects and provokes questions of value, ceremony, choice, and consumption, is a work by Paula Crown called ‘Chalice.”
The artist’s ‘Chalice’ adds to her famous Solo Cup series, emphasizing the social, environmental, and cultural issues behind this well-known American consumerist object. The Solo cup evokes a consumer culture based on optimism and plenty, it is handy, low-cost, and disposable after one use. Crown serves as a reminder of our disposable culture, encouraging us to think of its impact on our lives both locally and globally.
With ‘Chalice,’ Crown also calls to mind the golden cup described in the Bible that was used by Jesus during the Jewish purification ceremony known as the Last Supper.
The Chalice is a Solo Cup transformed into the shape of a religious goblet, which changes in materiality, scale, and presentation. The colossal sculpture evokes a mannerist version of the cup that twists and contorts.
The 7-foot monument is made of painted fiberglass and shines golden, recalling the mythology surrounding religious relics, such as the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend or the Holy Chalice of Christianity, which was frequently depicted in Renaissance paintings of The Last Supper. While the gleaming vessel mimics religious awe and our inclination to seek out a higher meaning, the artist encourages us also to remember its origin as a mass-produced consumer object.
In addition, Crown’s ‘Chalice’ reference other cultural symbols associated with power and consumption, including capitalist status symbols such as luxury cars and watches. Crown deconstructs these associations by sacrificing aesthetic value in favor of formless materiality.
Paula Crown, CHALICE, 2018, Painted fiberglass
84 x 70 1/8 x 69 5/8 in, 213.4 x 178.1 x 177 cm
SPRING / BREAK Art Show: 625 Madison Avenue between 58th + 59th
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