Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Grenville Davey. It dates from 1993 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The artist made these in 1993 by pressing ink onto paper, then repeating the same idea six times with small changes.
This image shows six small, close-up prints of eyes. The eyes are simple shapes—white and brown circles with black dots in the center. Some are on a plain background, others look blurry or pixelated, like they’re glitching. The colors are mostly neutral: off-white, brown, and dark.
The prints feel like they’re playing with how we see things—clear one second, broken the next. The artist made these in 1993 by pressing ink onto paper, then repeating the same idea six times with small changes.
Check out Grenville Davey to see more of his work.
Overview
Grenville Davey created a series of six screenprints in 1993, each depicting a close-up of an eye. The works are held in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. The prints are small in scale and share a restrained palette of off-white, brown, and black. Their uniform subject and varied execution suggest an exploration of perception through repetition and subtle variation.
Subject & Meaning
Each print focuses on a single eye, rendered with minimal detail: a white circle, a brown iris, and a central black pupil. The eyes appear both human and abstract, at times sharply defined, at others distorted or pixelated. This ambiguity invites consideration of vision itself—how sight can be clear, fragmented, or unreliable—without assigning narrative or emotional content.
Technique & Style
Davey used screenprinting to produce the series, applying ink to paper in six iterations. While the basic composition remains consistent, each print introduces slight alterations in focus, texture, or registration. Some images appear blurred or digitally degraded, mimicking mechanical failure. These variations reflect an interest in the material limits of reproduction and the instability of visual representation.
History & Provenance
The series was completed in 1993 and entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art shortly thereafter. It was produced during a period when Davey was exploring the intersection of sculpture and printmaking, often using industrial or mechanical processes. The work has remained in the museum’s holdings since acquisition, with no record of prior private ownership.
Context
Created in the early 1990s, the series aligns with broader artistic inquiries into perception, reproduction, and the effects of technology on vision. Davey’s approach resonates with contemporaneous practices that questioned the authenticity of images in an increasingly mediated world. The work avoids overt political or personal commentary, instead focusing on formal and sensory ambiguity.
Legacy
The series remains a quiet but persistent example of how printmaking can interrogate visual experience. It has not been widely reproduced or exhibited outside institutional settings, but its restrained conceptual rigor continues to inform discussions on the materiality of images. Davey’s use of repetition and variation in this work has influenced later artists examining the limits of mechanical reproduction.
Artist & collection
