no guess, not gambling, no fooling
In the early 1960s Sarah Grilo received a Guggenheim fellowship, moved to New York, and made a very conscious departure from the confines of Concrete art. Her new work took the shape of palimpsests of typography inspired by the layered, peeling announcements pasted up throughout the crowded city and the inexhaustible offers of the modern age.
Lot 9, No Fooling from 1968 is an active and vibrant tableau. Across the canvas, promises are put forth: no guess, not gambling, no fooling. The word extraordinary and the phrase, the new way are featured over and over again. A series of numbers are posted, implying both value and discount. Like a fevered sales pitch, this work presents the viewer with a mirror casting back the hectic pace of contemporary life.
