This 2020 oil on canvas by Bradford J. Salamon turns an ordinary one-cent gumball machine into something much more characterful. The machine fills nearly the entire composition, centered against a loose field of pinks, mauves, and cool blue-gray. Inside the glass globe, dozens of brightly colored gumballs are built up with quick, chunky strokes of red, turquoise, green, cream, orange, and navy. The painted “FRESH 1¢” shield and the small “THANK YOU” panel are especially good details, giving the machine the slightly awkward, hand-lettered personality of the original object.
Salamon’s handling is intentionally loose rather than photographic. Edges blur, paint remains visible, and the surface has a tactile quality that suits an object already loaded with nostalgia. The work is signed at lower right, and the reverse is inscribed “Bradford J. Salamon / Oil / 2020.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1963, Salamon is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has included portraiture, sculpture, film, and paintings of everyday objects. His object paintings grew from the idea that a familiar possession can be approached almost as a portrait, with its own age, personality, and history.
That approach makes particular sense with an old penny gumball machine. Coin-operated candy dispensers became common fixtures in American stores, barbershops, arcades, and waiting rooms during the early 20th century. For a cent, a child could turn a handle and receive a small reward, making these machines tiny monuments to impulse buying long before anyone used that phrase.
Salamon’s broader practice has repeatedly focused on the expressive possibilities of both people and humble objects, treating the act of painting as a way of recording time and memory. Here, the humble gumball machine gets the full portrait treatment, and somehow earns it.
This 2020 oil on canvas by Bradford J. Salamon turns an ordinary one-cent gumball machine into something much more characterful. The machine fills nearly the entire composition, centered against a loose field of pinks, mauves, and cool blue-gray. Inside the glass globe, dozens of brightly colored gumballs are built up with quick, chunky strokes of red, turquoise, green, cream, orange, and navy. The painted “FRESH 1¢” shield and the small “THANK YOU” panel are especially good details, giving the machine the slightly awkward, hand-lettered personality of the original object.
Salamon’s handling is intentionally loose rather than photographic. Edges blur, paint remains visible, and the surface has a tactile quality that suits an object already loaded with nostalgia. The work is signed at lower right, and the reverse is inscribed “Bradford J. Salamon / Oil / 2020.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1963, Salamon is a multidisciplinary artist whose work has included portraiture, sculpture, film, and paintings of everyday objects. His object paintings grew from the idea that a familiar possession can be approached almost as a portrait, with its own age, personality, and history.
That approach makes particular sense with an old penny gumball machine. Coin-operated candy dispensers became common fixtures in American stores, barbershops, arcades, and waiting rooms during the early 20th century. For a cent, a child could turn a handle and receive a small reward, making these machines tiny monuments to impulse buying long before anyone used that phrase.
Salamon’s broader practice has repeatedly focused on the expressive possibilities of both people and humble objects, treating the act of painting as a way of recording time and memory. Here, the humble gumball machine gets the full portrait treatment, and somehow earns it.
