Cha Cha Couple
Maker
Suellen Rocca
(American, 1943 - 2020)
Date1967
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 71 1/2 x 67 1/2 in. (181.6 x 171.5 cm)
Framed: 72-1/4 x 68-1/2 x 1-1/2 in. (183.5 x 174 x 3.8 cm)
Framed: 72-1/4 x 68-1/2 x 1-1/2 in. (183.5 x 174 x 3.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ruth Horwich
Collections
Object number1997.19
Status
Not on viewSuellen Rocca’s painting Cha Cha Couple shares elements with works made by many Chicago Imagists—bright colors and graphic lines inspired by comics and advertisements. Particularly influenced by the commercial images and fantasies of her youth, Rocca has developed her own visual vocabulary that speaks to her adolescent dreams. Cha Cha Couple thus depicts sparkling diamond rings, speeding cars, wigs, bows, palm trees, and dancing couples (the dancer motif was taken from an advertisement for Arthur Murray Dance Studio). Rocca has used several Imagist techniques in the making of these images including clear outlines, an emphasis on organic shapes, and colorful patterning. Cha Cha Couple was exhibited at one of the first Imagist shows at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago in the 1960s.
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