Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021)
1963
Oil on canvas
An American invention of the early 20th century, the bubble-topped gumball machine was a mainstay of modern childhood. Wayne Thiebaud’s machines are lined up in empty surroundings, an arrangement that recalls the still lifes of the modern Italian artist Giorgio Morandi, whom he admired. Removed from any context, these everyday objects can be scrutinised afresh. The painter Barnett Newman described Thiebaud’s gumball machines as ‘surreal’ encapsulations of consumerism, which stimulated visual desire with their beautiful colours and held the ‘sweet promise’ of a reward in exchange for ‘the grimiest kind of copper money’. However, Thiebaud omits the release lever on his machines, so the enticing sweets are forever out of reach.