DENIAL
Corporate Sludge (Blue)
24 x 18 in.
4-color screenprint on 300 gsm French fine art paper
This is my second year participating in ArtMate. Last year, I went for a big name when choosing my work. I have always been a fan of Andy Warhol, so to have his polaroid Crosses in my sophomore year dorm was quite literally a dream come true. After participating last year, I was even more excited to pick my piece for my junior dorm where I would have my own room.
Although Crosses was available again this past year, I ultimately decided I wanted something bigger and more colorful to match my room. Therefore, when newly accessioned Corporate Sludge (Blue) by DENIAL showed up in the Art Mate collection, I was ecstatic.
DENIAL, or Daniel Bombardier, is a Canadian mural artist who plays with the pop art of the modern era. A lot of his work surrounds political issues and capitalism, often reusing old pop art motifs to get across new messages. Corporate Sludge (Blue) is a riff of Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell Soup Cans, but instead DENIAL has replaced the iconic Campbells logo with “Corporate Sludge,” hinting at ideas of capitalism and waste in the modern day.
As a lover of modernism and pop art, I was excited to have a sort of continuity in my choices—one of Andy Warhol, the “original,” and then of DENIAL, whose deeper meaning within the work I am drawn more deeply toward.
Overall, ArtMate remains one of my favorite programs we do at the galleries, and I am honored to also be a participant!
— Sarah Willoughby ’25
To learn more about ArtMate and our collection, click here.