Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a charcoal drawing by James Rosenquist. It dates from 1984 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1984, this untitled drawing by James Rosenquist combines charcoal and pencil on paper. Measuring the artist’s characteristic blend of fine art and commercial practice, the work presents a dense, layered composition of intersecting lines and smudges that suggest a rugged, mountainous terrain without depicting a specific landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing does not portray a literal scene; instead, it abstracts the notion of natural forms through a visual vocabulary derived from advertising and signage. By reducing recognizable shapes to overlapping marks, Rosenquist invites viewers to consider how everyday visual cues are constructed and deconstructed within consumer culture.
Technique & Style
Rosenquist builds texture through repeated, overlapping strokes, employing both charcoal’s deep gray tones and pencil’s lighter marks. The surface shows areas of heavy, jagged lines juxtaposed with almost erased sections, creating a contrast between density and void. This method echoes cross‑hatching practices, emphasizing the physical act of drawing as a process of accumulation and erasure.
History & Provenance
The piece belongs to Rosenquist’s post‑1970s period, when he shifted focus from large‑scale canvases to more intimate works on paper. It reflects his continued interest in the visual language of advertising, a theme that persisted throughout his career. The drawing remains in a private collection, having been exhibited in several retrospectives of his work.
Artist & collection
Artist
James Albert Rosenquist (November 29, 1933 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement.
