Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Guillermo Meza. It dates from 1973 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1973, this untitled lithograph forms part of a larger mixed‑media portfolio that includes a variety of print techniques—screenprints, etchings, linoleum cuts, an engraving and an intaglio, several of them featuring embossing. The work is held by the Museum of Modern Art and represents a late‑period experiment by Mexican artist Guillermo Meza Álvarez, whose practice spanned painting and printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a solitary, winged figure suspended in mid‑air. The torso is rendered in a smoky, indistinct mass, while the wings unfold in loose, swirling lines that evoke wind or feathered motion. The ethereal quality and distorted anatomy echo Meza’s recurring interest in fantastical beings used to comment on social conditions.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph, the piece incorporates an embossing process that raises the wing edges, giving them a tactile, almost three‑dimensional presence. The contrast between the soft, blurred figure and the sharply textured wings illustrates Meza’s blend of traditional print methods with experimental surface treatments, a hallmark of his print portfolio.
History & Provenance
Guillermo Meza Álvarez (1917–1998), born to a Tlaxcalteca indigenous father, studied under Santos Balmori and was linked to the Galería de Arte Mexicana. The lithograph entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection as part of its acquisition of the artist’s 1973 portfolio, reflecting the institution’s interest in Mexican printmaking of the period.
Context
During the early 1970s Meza expanded beyond his well‑known oil paintings—characterized by fantastical settings and distorted human forms—to explore the possibilities of print media. This work situates him within a broader Mexican modernist movement that combined social critique with experimental techniques, aligning with contemporaries who sought to merge narrative content and material innovation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Guillermo Meza Álvarez (September 11, 1917 – October 2, 1997) was a Mexican painter, known for his oils depicting fantastic background and often distorted human figures, generally with denunciations of society.
