{"id":644512,"date":"2026-03-10T02:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/644512\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T02:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T02:00:25","slug":"elizabeth-salokas-vibrant-painted-rocks-adopt-the-personalities-of-snacks-and-pop-culture-icons-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/644512\/","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Saloka’s Vibrant Painted Rocks Adopt the Personalities of Snacks and Pop Culture Icons \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

While most of us will pass by stray stones and piles of rubble without much of a second thought, Elizabeth Saloka<\/a> sees tons of potential. From a couple of rock piles outside of her regular supermarket to crumbling curbs or demolished structures, she sifts through a variety of shapes and sizes to find rocks that may eventually transform into vibrant mimics of common household items, boxed sandwiches from Pret a Manger, or Babybel brand snacking cheese.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast fall, I bought a ton of marble scraps off a sculptor in Woodstock for like, $10 off Facebook,\u201d Saloka tells Colossal. \u201cFor sandwiches and cakes, crumbling asphalt parking lots are good. When I lived in Sunset Park, they demolished a building a couple blocks from my apartment, and there was a hole in the fence, so I\u2019d go in there and find tons of cool shapes and textures of rubble.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Using bricks, she creates humorously fat stacks of $1 and $5 bills, and cut pavers become Premium saltine cracker boxes. \u201cThat particular rock shape\u2014a long rectangular cube\u2014is to me the holy grail of rock shapes, because it doesn\u2019t really naturally occur too much in nature,\u201d Saloka says. When she finds a particular shape or cut that works well for certain objects, such as Pink Pearl erasers or popular candies, she collects as many as she can.<\/p>\n

Pop culture items rule Saloka\u2019s oeuvre, from recognizable grocery store brands to fast food mainstays to memes like the so-called \u201cIKEA monkey<\/a>\u201d in its tiny shearling coat. There\u2019s also an air of nostalgia for toys, analog film, and pantry staples that many of us associate with our childhoods or an earlier generation.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in New York, you can see the artist\u2019s work in Snacks and the City at Gotham<\/a>\u2019s Chelsea gallery space, which runs from March 19 to May 3. Her work will also be including a group show at Galactic Panther<\/a>, which will be on view from March 27 to May 21. And in June, she\u2019ll participate in a two-person show alongside Kate Bingaman-Burt<\/a> at Women\u2019s Studio Workshop<\/a> and a solo exhibition at Here to Sunday<\/a>. See more on Saloka\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong> Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n