Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil painting by the Contemporary Abstract artist Bernard Cohen. It dates from 1960 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Within the red, two gray circles each contain a black ring surrounding a white center, and a dark blue form below suggests a stylized mouth.
Created in 1960, this oil and enamel canvas by British abstract painter Bernard Cohen presents a stark geometric composition. A vivid red field dominates the surface, bordered by thin black and pinkish bands. Within the red, two gray circles each contain a black ring surrounding a white center, and a dark blue form below suggests a stylized mouth. The work exemplifies Cohen’s engagement with pure color and shape.
Subject & Meaning
The arrangement of the two concentric circles and the blue element evokes a minimalist facial motif, inviting viewers to interpret the forms as abstracted eyes and a mouth. By reducing the human face to basic geometry, the painting explores perception and the reduction of representation to essential visual cues, aligning with mid‑century abstract concerns about form over narrative.
Technique & Style
Cohen employed flat applications of oil and enamel, achieving uniform, unmodulated color fields without visible brushwork or texture. The crisp edges of the black and pink borders frame the central shapes, reinforcing a sense of precision. This method reflects the artist’s interest in industrial materials and the clean, hard‑edge aesthetic characteristic of late 1950s‑early 1960s abstract painting.
History & Provenance
The canvas entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art shortly after its creation, becoming part of the institution’s holdings of post‑war British abstraction. Its acquisition underscores MoMA’s commitment to documenting the international development of geometric abstraction during the period.
Context
Produced at a time when British artists were increasingly dialoguing with American minimalism, Cohen’s work mirrors contemporaneous experiments with color, geometry, and the elimination of illusionistic depth. The piece situates itself within a broader movement that sought to foreground the materiality of paint and the autonomy of abstract form.
Artist & collection
Artist
Bernard Cohen (born 1933, London) is a British painter. He is regarded as one of the leading British abstract artists of his time.
