Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil drawing by Dani (Leventhal) ReStack. It dates from 2010 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2010 by Dani ReStack, this untitled work combines cut-and-pasted paper, chromogenic prints, and a sealed plastic bag containing a preserved crow.
Created in 2010 by Dani ReStack, this untitled work combines cut-and-pasted paper, chromogenic prints, and a sealed plastic bag containing a preserved crow. The materials include oil, charcoal, pencil, and staples, applied across a layered surface. The composition resists traditional composition, presenting fragments of paper, text, and organic matter in a deliberately disordered arrangement. It is held in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
The work juxtaposes mundane ephemera—torn paper, scribbles, a date—with the unsettling presence of a dead crow encased in plastic. The hand in the photograph and the pencil beside the bird suggest human intervention, while the date 'June 8' anchors the piece in time. The crow, neither painted nor symbolic, functions as a literal artifact, evoking themes of mortality, preservation, and the boundaries between nature and culture.
Technique & Style
ReStack employs collage and assemblage to construct a surface of layered, irregular fragments. Chromogenic prints are affixed alongside plain and lined paper, stained and marked with charcoal and pencil. The crow, enclosed in clear plastic, introduces a three-dimensional, non-art material into the two-dimensional plane. Staples and uneven edges reinforce the work’s raw, unrefined aesthetic, rejecting polish in favor of tactile immediacy.
History & Provenance
The work was completed in 2010 and entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art shortly thereafter. Its materials suggest a process rooted in personal or found objects, possibly drawn from the artist’s immediate environment. No public record details its creation context, but its inclusion in MoMA’s collection signals its recognition within contemporary drawing practices that challenge conventional media boundaries.
Context
This piece aligns with late 20th- and early 21st-century practices that expand drawing beyond the page, incorporating found objects and non-traditional materials. ReStack’s use of a real crow echoes artists who engage with biological matter as a means of confronting decay and presence. The work’s unpolished appearance reflects broader trends in contemporary art that value process, impermanence, and material authenticity over formal resolution.
Legacy
Untitled contributes to an evolving dialogue about the materiality of drawing and the role of the everyday in art. Its inclusion in a major museum collection affirms the legitimacy of unconventional media in contemporary practice. The work continues to prompt questions about preservation, mortality, and the artist’s role as collector and arranger of fragments, influencing subsequent generations engaged with material-based inquiry.
Artist & collection
