Picnic

Copied Charles LeDray, Picnic, 2005-2013, mixed media, 5 3⁄8 × 31 1⁄2 × 28 1⁄4 in. (13.7 × 80.0 × 71.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Debbie Frank Petersen, Nina and Michael Zilkha, and Mickey Cartin, and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment , 2015.18A-C, © 2013, Charles LeDray

Artwork Details

Title
Picnic
Artist
Date
2005-2013
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
5 3⁄8 × 31 1⁄2 × 28 1⁄4 in. (13.7 × 80.0 × 71.8 cm)
Copyright
© 2013, Charles LeDray
Credit Line
Gift of Debbie Frank Petersen, Nina and Michael Zilkha, and Mickey Cartin, and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment 
Mediums Description
mixed media
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — fruit
  • Object — vegetable
  • Object — foodstuff
Object Number
2015.18A-C
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2015.18A-C

Artwork Description

In Picnic, tiny colorful ceramics depicting food sit atop a pinwheel quilt that rests on miniature cinder-blocks, all handcrafted by the artist. Picnic's nostalgic subject and diminutive scale evoke the innocent pleasures of childhood, but there is so much more to digest in this deceptively simple sculpture. The fact that some of the paired foods are identical, while others are complementary or contrasting, might suggest ideas of identity and difference. For instance, do the slices cherry and blueberry pie allude to political divisions? LeDray leaves us to ponder such questions as we delight in the intricate details of the piece.