Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Gary Hume. 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 a series of eight screenprints by English artist Gary Hume. The piece consists of a flat green field overlaid with a lighter green oval that contains two stark black shapes resembling eyes and a mouth, suggesting a minimalist facial motif. The composition relies on a limited palette and clean geometric forms to achieve a restrained visual impact.
Subject & Meaning
The central oval functions as an abstracted face, its simplified features evoking a universal, almost cartoonish expression. By reducing the human visage to basic shapes, Hume invites viewers to contemplate the reduction of identity to essential visual cues, while the surrounding green tones suggest a natural or environmental backdrop that frames the figure without narrative detail.
Technique & Style
Executed as a screenprint, the image employs bold, flat areas of color applied through successive layers of mesh and ink.
Executed as a screenprint, the image employs bold, flat areas of color applied through successive layers of mesh and ink. Hume’s approach emphasizes sharp edges and uniform tones, characteristic of his minimalist aesthetic. The limited color range—variations of green with black accents—highlights the graphic quality of the work and underscores the artist’s interest in surface and form over representational detail.
History & Provenance
The print forms part of a limited portfolio of eight screenprints produced by Hume at the turn of the millennium. It entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art shortly after its creation, where it remains on view as an example of early‑2000s British contemporary printmaking. Hume maintains studios in London and New York, reflecting his transatlantic practice.
Artist & collection
Artist
Gary Stewart Hume (born 9 May 1962) is an English artist. Hume's work is strongly identified with the YBA who came to prominence in the early 1990s. Hume lives and works in London and Accord, New York.
