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Pepón Osorio

T.K.O.
Now On View

Maker

Pepón Osorio (American, b. Puerto Rico, b. 1955 in Puerto Rico)

Title

T.K.O.

Year

1989

Medium

  • mixed media

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • mixed media

Materials

mixed media

Dimensions

Open: 34.3 x 37.5 x 28.3 cm (13 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund

Object Number

2001.30

Type

  • Sculpture

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 6: Assemblage

  • Books

Selected Works

  • Books

Island Nations: New Art From Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Diaspora

Exhibition History

Art and Design from 1900 to Now
Jun 04, 2022 – Sep 01, 2026

Label copy

Colorful tokens and dolls fill this bright-red velvet-lined box representing the artist’s personal associations with his native Puerto Rico. Boxing gloves, toy soldiers, a knife, a dollar sign, and photographs of political figures critique sociopolitical issues in the island state, lacing the kitschy paraphernalia with darker references to corruption and violence.

- Wai Yee Chiong, associate curator of Asian art

Everyday Things
Contemporary Works from the Collection
Apr 13, 2012 – Feb 24, 2013

Label copy

Pepón Osorio is known for elaborate, room-size installations that often use humor and kitsch to confront difficult political and social issues. T.K.O. is a kind of miniature installation or three-dimensional collage. Within its bright-red velvet-lined box, Osorio has placed various ob-jects and tokens that he associates with his native Puerto Rico. These items mingle with images of political figures whom he holds responsi-ble for decades of corruption and violence there. “T.K.O.” stands for “technical knockout,” a boxing term used to declare a match’s end when a still-conscious boxer cannot continue to fight. The cover features boxing gloves with plastic toy soldiers and a metallic dollar sign. Together with the work’s title, this arrangement hints at a larger political story contained inside the box.

Island Nations
New Art from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico
Oct 29, 2004 – Jan 20, 2005

Label copy

In this work, Osorio has placed various objects and tokens that he associates with his native Puerto Rico within a velvet-lined box, along with images of the political figures whom he holds responsible for decades of corruption and violence there.

En este trabajo Osorio ha colocado varios objetos y símbolos que él asocia con su nativo Puerto Rico, en un cofre forrado de terciopelo. El artista colocó también imágenes de figuras políticas a los cuales él hace responsable por años de

corrupción y violencia en su tierra natal.

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In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Pepón Osorio (American, b. Puerto Rico, b. 1955 in Puerto Rico)
T.K.O., 1989
Mixed media
Open: 34.3 x 37.5 x 28.3 cm (13 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 11 1/8 inches)
Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund 2001.30

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