Muniment

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In place of a paintbrush, Clough uses an instrument he calls the “Big Finger”—a large balloon-like contraption that he invented—to spread poured enamel paint into constellations of color. The artist claims that this device allows him to maintain an emotional distance from the physical act of painting. His quirky, madeup titles promote the sense of fantasy in his exuberant paintings. Clough’s approach to making art is highly philosophical: “I make the paintings because they don’t exist and soon enough, neither will I.” The Vogels began collecting Clough’s art in 1978. The artist writes, “Having gathered 622 of my works and distributed 220 of them to fifty museums amounts to the most important chapter of my career as an artist. . . . I think of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel’s collection in terms of ‘sublime love.’”

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