Greg Palombo

The long term projects of the Penis Coat Rack has finally reached a conclusion after its third go around in three years. The piece gets its origins from two of my heroes, Ken Price and Ettore Sottsass. Many of Price’s works possess an eroticism that seems to speak to us, something almost every human can understand. The erotic often has a whimsy and also comedic value when it enters the art realm, so rarely are they serious works. I like this sense of comedy and the absurd.

In 1973 Sottsass made the Shiva vase which is a penis shaped vase with a simplified almost cartoon like stylization which I adopted in my latest iteration of the Penis Coat Rack. The penises are finished with automotive paint and buffed to a polished finish looking like polished steel.

The Penis Coat Rack is odd but comical, large and belittling as it towers over most. But it is something we all understand so well. Why did I make this? I don’t know, but its funky and weird and strikes a chord within us that is hard to explain. Perhaps its an acknowledgment of sexuality or the organ that brought us into existence? It is perplexing imagery but hey, let’s turn it into a funny coat rack so toss your coat on it and stay a while.