Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a print by Carmen Perrin. It dates from 2000 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2000, this work is one of thirty-one mixed media prints in a portfolio by Carmen Perrin, a Bolivian-born Swiss artist. It combines printed paper with inserted straight pins, forming a quiet yet deliberate intervention in the surface. The piece is part of MoMA’s collection, reflecting its place within late 20th-century experimental print practices.
Subject & Meaning
The composition features pencil-drawn honeycomb patterns, each pierced by a pin oriented in varied directions. The arrangement suggests fragmentation, disruption, or subtle resistance. The handwritten title, 'Break the silence,' introduces a textual layer that implies suppressed voices or unspoken tensions, inviting contemplation rather than direct narrative.
Technique & Style
Perrin employed minimal materials—printed paper, pencil, and standard straight pins—to construct a restrained visual language. The pins, inserted perpendicularly, disrupt the flatness of the paper, introducing physical depth and a tactile quality. The hand-drawn honeycombs and scattered pin placements avoid symmetry, emphasizing spontaneity and imperfection.
History & Provenance
Perrin produced this work during her tenure as a professor at École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Geneva, a position she held from 1989 to 2004. The portfolio was later acquired by The Museum of Modern Art, where it remains in the permanent collection. No earlier ownership or exhibition history beyond the portfolio’s initial presentation is documented.
Context
Perrin’s work emerged from a broader Swiss and European interest in material experimentation during the 1990s and early 2000s. Her use of everyday objects like pins aligned with conceptual practices that questioned the boundaries of printmaking and sculpture. The quiet, intimate scale of the work contrasts with the institutional settings in which it is displayed.
Legacy
Though not widely exhibited, this piece contributes to an understudied body of work that redefines print as a site of physical and conceptual intervention. Perrin’s influence endures through her pedagogical role and the quiet, material-focused approach she championed, which continues to resonate in contemporary practices that prioritize subtlety over spectacle.
Artist & collection
Artist
Carmen Perrin (born 1953) is a Bolivian-born Swiss visual artist, designer, and educator.
