Gennaro Santaniello - Pressed Taste 2 – Reclaimed Icons Series

This original oil painting is part of my Reclaimed Icons series, a body of work focused on objects of mass culture after use.

The crushed Coca-Cola can is no longer a product.
Its deformation, dents, and folds are traces of human interaction — signs of consumption, pressure, habit, and repetition. What was designed to be identical and disposable becomes unique through use.

In my crushed cans, the act of crushing is not accidental but symbolic.
It marks the moment when a mass-produced object stops serving its function and starts telling a story. The surface bears the imprint of the hand, of time, of routine — transforming a familiar icon into a singular relic.

This painting reflects on how everyday objects absorb human presence.
They are emptied, used, bent, or worn, and in that process they lose their neutrality and gain identity. The individual gesture interrupts industrial perfection.


Size: 30 × 40 cm
Year:2026
Signed: On the back
Certificate of authenticity: Included