Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Claude Breeze. It dates from 1967 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1967, this screenprint is one of a set of thirteen produced by Canadian artist Claude Breeze. The image is divided into two rectangular panels that echo the shape of television screens, each presenting a stylized figure against contrasting color fields. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
Both panels depict a single, abstracted human form. In the upper section the figure appears in dark blue with a white head, set against a yellow ground marked by red and green bands, while a branch‑like shape extends behind it. The lower panel isolates the profile of the same head, accented by a series of red dots, suggesting a focus on media representation and fragmented identity.
Technique & Style
The composition’s geometric layout and vivid palette evoke the visual language of early television technology, creating a retro‑futurist atmosphere.
The piece was produced using screenprinting, a method that allows flat areas of color and crisp edges. One of the prints in the original portfolio includes hand‑applied additions, indicating Breeze’s willingness to blend mechanical reproduction with manual intervention. The composition’s geometric layout and vivid palette evoke the visual language of early television technology, creating a retro‑futurist atmosphere.
History & Provenance
Claude Breeze, known primarily for figurative painting with unsettling themes, completed the work while teaching at York University in Toronto. After its inclusion in the 1967 screenprint portfolio, the print entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view as an example of mid‑century experimental printmaking.
Artist & collection
Artist
Claude Breeze , also known as Claude Herbert Breeze, and sometimes as C. Herbert (born October 9, 1938) is a Canadian figurative painter, known for paintings with raw, unsettling imagery. He is a Professor Emeritus at…
