Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a tempera painting by the Abstract Expressionist artist Irving Kriesberg. It dates from 1951 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1951, this tempera-on-board painting by Irving Kriesberg is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection. It presents a dynamic, non-representational composition that suggests movement through layered brushwork and intense color. Though abstract, the work evokes figures in motion, anchored in the materiality of tempera’s quick-drying medium and its capacity for sharp, textured marks.
Subject & Meaning
The painting implies a scene of riders and horses caught in turmoil, though forms are fragmented and indistinct. Riders are suggested by draped shapes, horses by arcing limbs and thrusting necks, all submerged in a crimson field. The imagery resists literal interpretation, instead conveying agitation and urgency through the tension between implied motion and chaotic structure.
Technique & Style
Tempera, a fast-drying paint made from pigment and egg yolk, allowed Kriesberg to build dense, opaque layers with swift, decisive strokes. The surface is rugged, with thick impasto and erratic brushwork that emphasize physicality over refinement. Color contrasts—deep reds, stark whites, and charcoal shadows—heighten the sense of instability and kinetic energy.
History & Provenance
It reflects Kriesberg’s engagement with postwar abstraction and his interest in expressive gesture over narrative clarity.
Painted in 1951, the work entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its creation. It reflects Kriesberg’s engagement with postwar abstraction and his interest in expressive gesture over narrative clarity. No documented exhibition history exists prior to its acquisition, suggesting it was likely produced for personal or studio exploration before being recognized by institutional curators.
Context
Emerging in the early 1950s, the work aligns with the broader American Abstract Expressionist movement, though Kriesberg’s approach diverged from the scale and gestural grandeur of peers like Pollock. His focus on intimate, densely packed compositions and tempera’s tactile qualities situates the piece within a quieter, more introspective strand of abstraction that valued material precision and emotional intensity.
Legacy
Though not widely exhibited, Untitled remains a significant example of Kriesberg’s contribution to mid-century American abstraction. Its use of tempera—a medium often associated with earlier traditions—recontextualized within a modernist framework, highlights his interest in bridging historical techniques with contemporary expression. The work continues to inform discussions on the diversity of abstract practices beyond dominant narratives.
Artist & collection
Artist
Irving Kriesberg was an American painter, sculptor, educator, author, and filmmaker, whose work combined elements of Abstract Expressionism with representational human, animal, and humanoid forms.
