Characterized by the minimal abstraction of all Gursky’s large-scale photographs, this work explicitly addresses the brandscapes created by the repetition of big-box stores throughout the American suburbs. In a contained and neutral image, inspired by historical landscape painting, vast expanses of white are punctuated by the saturated colors of recognizable logos. This picture of ordinary modern architecture is designed to generate a sense of estrangement; it is a disturbing reference to the symbols of commerce that have come to permeate the contemporary landscape.
Gallery label from 9 + 1 Ways of Being Political: 50 Years of Political Stances in Architecture and Urban Design, September 12, 2012–March 25, 2013.