Finish Fetish
Finish Fetish is the glossy, pristine look that Los Angeles artists developed in the 1960s, closely related to the LA Look, Light and Space, pop art, and minimalism. Working with resins, fiberglass, automotive lacquer, and plastics borrowed from the industrial world - car shops, surfboard factories - makers like John McCracken, Larry Bell, and DeWain Valentine produced seamless, brightly colored objects with no visible brushwork. The results often hover between painting and sculpture, and between handmade craft and factory production. The name captures the obsession: surfaces finished to a fetishistic perfection, echoing the candy colors and mirror finishes of California car and surf culture. It remains southern California's signature contribution to postwar American art.
Defining characteristics
- Glossy, seamless surfaces finished to a mirror or candy sheen
- Simple abstract forms: planks, discs, wedges, columns, and boxes
- Bright commercial colors drawn from car and surfboard culture
- Industrial materials: polyester resin, fiberglass, automotive lacquer, plastics
- No visible brushwork or evidence of the artist's hand
- Works hovering between painting and sculpture, handcraft and industrial fabrication
Key figures
- John McCracken (1934-2011) — Signature leaning planks in lacquered fiberglass and plywood
- Larry Bell (b. 1939) — Vacuum-coated glass cubes that trade solid surface for light and reflection
- DeWain Valentine (1936-2021) — Monumental cast polyester resin discs and columns in gradient color
- Judy Chicago (b. 1939) — Early minimalist sculptures in sprayed automotive lacquer (Rainbow Pickett)
- Peter Alexander (1939-2020) — Translucent cast-resin wedges and forms that capture colored light
Example works
- Rainbow Pickett — Judy Chicago (1965)
- Rearrangeable Rainbow Blocks — Judy Chicago (1965)
- Black Plank — John McCracken (1967)
Sources
- Finish Fetish - Wikipedia encyclopedia
- Light and Space - Wikipedia encyclopedia