Since the early 1980s, John M Armleder's paintings have been very much related to the post-modern era by reusing well-known avant-garde aesthetics. Armleder appropriates existing forms as quotes in order to focus on the semantic shift of the once radical avant-garde concepts and techniques in the era of post-modernism. In this particular painting makes use of the cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty as a symbol of abundance. Commonly depicted as a large horn-shaped container overflowing with food, flowers and nuts, the horn originates from classical antiquity and it has continued as a symbol in Western art. The pattern that results from the repetition of this motif is an obvious reference to Op-Art, whilst the title comes from the artist’s initiale letters who picked out the colors without knowing the purpose, in this case Gonçalo Sena (1984 Lisbon).
