Burger Chef Interior (Primary Title)
Ralph Goings, American, 1928 - 2016 (Artist)
"There are a lot of reflective surfaces, a lot of transparent surfaces, so your eye is moving in and out and back in again. There’s a complexity that I think begins to show with the interiors." —Ralph Goings
Like other Photorealists, Goings sought subjects that might be dismissed as banal, such as trucks, diners, and ketchup and mustard bottles. Burger Chef Interior belongs to his series of glass-enclosed fast-food restaurants as light-infused spaces.
Despite his interest in preciserenderings of the visible world, Goings acknowledged the influences of Minimalist and Conceptual Art. By using a predetermined subject that changed little over his career and the photograph as his continual source, Goings made many decisions about the painting even before putting brush to canvas. This detachment from subjectivity dampens feelings of nostalgia or sentimentality his work might otherwise convey.
Get Real: Selections from the Collection of the VMFA, William King Regional Arts Center, Abingdon, VA, February 5 – May 15, 1999; Olin Hill Gallery, Roanoke College, Salem, VA, October 10 – December 5, 1999
Realism in a Postmodern World: Selections from the Sydney and Frances Lewis Collection, Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Lynchburg, VA, January 21 – March 25, 1990
Spotlight Loan, Piedmont Arts Association, Martinsville, VA, September 22 – October 22, 1987
Our Land, Our Sky, Our Water, Spokane World Exposition, Spokane, WA, May 1 – November 1, 1974
Real Cool/Cool Real, Duke University, Durham, NC, September 28 – October 21, 1973
Divergent Representation: Five Contemporary Artists, NCFA, Washington, DC, June 15 – September 3, 1973
Young American Artists in the Lewis Collection, Roanoke Fine Arts Center, Roanoke, VA, January 7 – February 3, 1973
Brandt, Frederick R. Late 20th Century Art. Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1985. (No. 37, p. 78-9).
Meisel, Louis K. PhotoRealism. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1980. (No. 603, p. 286).
“Realist Works are on Display.” Richmond Times-Dispatch (March 6, 1977): h-4. (B/w ill. p. H-4).
Frankenstein, Alfred V. Our Land, Our Sky, Our Water: An Exhibition of American & Canadian Art. Spokane, WA: International Exposition, 1974. (No. 87, p. 33).
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
