Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a gouache drawing by Hannah Wilke. It dates from 1987 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1987, this gouache on paper work by Hannah Wilke is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection. It presents no representational forms, instead favoring an abstract composition of layered, uncontrolled pigment. The medium’s water-soluble nature allows for soft transitions and blurred boundaries between hues, resulting in a surface that feels both spontaneous and materially dense.
Subject & Meaning
The work resists symbolic interpretation, offering no figures, symbols, or narrative cues. Its significance lies in its physicality—the act of applying paint without premeditation. Wilke’s approach here aligns with an interest in bodily expression and material immediacy, where the gesture of application becomes the subject itself, divorced from depiction.
Technique & Style
Gouache, a matte, opaque water-based paint, was applied with direct, unrefined motions, producing uneven fields of color that overlap and bleed. Edges remain soft, and underlying paper occasionally shows through, suggesting urgency and improvisation. The palette—vivid reds, greens, blues, and oranges—is applied without blending tools, emphasizing the hand’s role in shaping the surface.
History & Provenance
The work entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection following Wilke’s established reputation in post-minimalist and feminist art circles. It was produced during the final years of her life, a period marked by intense exploration of materiality and the body. Its acquisition reflects institutional recognition of her non-representational works alongside her more widely known sculptural pieces.
Context
Created in the late 1980s, this piece emerges from a broader shift in Wilke’s practice toward abstraction, away from the figurative and performative works that defined her earlier career. It aligns with contemporaneous experiments by artists investigating paint as a physical residue of action, rather than a vehicle for image-making.
Legacy
This work contributes to an understudied segment of Wilke’s oeuvre—her abstract drawings—which challenge assumptions about her artistic identity being tied solely to performance and sculpture. Its presence in MoMA’s collection affirms its role in expanding the discourse around feminist abstraction and the legitimacy of non-representational expression in late 20th-century art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hannah Wilke (born Arlene Hannah Butter; was an American painter, sculptor, photographer, video artist and performance artist. Her work is known for exploring issues of feminism, sexuality and femininity.
