Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor drawing by Jack Whitten. It dates from 1968 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1968, this untitled watercolor on paper belongs to the oeuvre of American artist Jack Whitten. The work is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and exemplifies Whitten’s experimental approach to abstraction during the late 1960s.
Subject & Meaning
The composition is dominated by interlaced fields of pink, yellow, green and blue that merge into one another, producing a luminous, fluid surface. Within the central mass a vague human silhouette can be discerned, though facial features are obscured by the surrounding swirls, suggesting a fleeting presence rather than a defined figure.
Technique & Style
Whitten employed watercolor’s inherent translucency, allowing pigments to bleed and overlap in a seamless glaze. The edges appear deliberately uncontrolled, as if the paint were poured and then dragged across the paper, creating a soft, smudged effect that emphasizes the medium’s capacity for spontaneous diffusion.
History & Provenance
The piece was produced during a period when Whitten was exploring new methods of mark‑making that would later earn him the National Medal of Arts in 2016. After its creation, the work entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings, where it remains on view as a representative example of his early abstract investigations.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jack Whitten (December 5, 1939 – January 20, 2018) was an American abstract painter and sculptor.
