Richard McGuire | Popeye and Olive

Richard McGuire

Popeye and Olive

Toronto, Canada: Paul + Wendy Projects, 2019

10 x 10"

Edition of 15 [+ 5 AP] signed and numbered copies

The fiftieth edition from Paul + Wendy projects is one of their best: a laser-cut steel, powder coated matte black version of Richard McGuire’s reductive images of Popeye and Olive Oyl. The work features two holes for hanging and comes in a silkscreened box, a signed and numbered risograph card, and some stickers. 

We’re grateful to have one, as the work quickly sold out and is no longer available.

"By 2001, [McGuire] had turned his attention back to books, this time for an older audience. First came Popeye and Olive, an edition of 200 silkscreen books published by Cornelius. A sequel, P+O, appeared in 2002. Both were an opportunity for McGuire to pay homage to the characters created by [Elzie Crisler] Segar, whom he is particularly fond of. "The books started with my decision to go on a meditation retreat at a Zen monastery. It was a silent weekend retreat, which included a class in Chinese calligraphy painting. The class required painting the same character over and over again, like repeating a mantra, a practice of meditation through repeated painting. Back home, I continued the exercise and one day, one of the shapes suggested the silhouette of the Popeye character. I decided to riff on Popeye’s and Olive’s silhouettes and created a series of variations. In the books, Popeye and Olive meet, and from that point on, their shapes merge and compose a language of relationship." He calls it "an abstract love story." 

- Vincent Tuset-Anrès, Richard McGuire: Then and There, Here and Now