Untitled

Executed as a woodcut, the image relies on carved negative space to define the houses’ outlines and surfaces. The sharp, clean edges and high contrast between black and white are characteristic of the medium. Horizontal lines in the walls and angular rooflines are rendered with deliberate economy, merging the precision of diagrammatic drawing with the physicality of carved wood, reinforcing Bartlett’s fusion of system and hand.

This print was produced in 1991 and entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly thereafter. It belongs to a series of prints in which Bartlett adapted her signature grid-based compositions to printmaking, expanding her exploration of repetition and variation beyond painting and sculpture. No earlier exhibition history is widely documented, but its acquisition by MoMA signals its recognition within contemporary print discourse.

In the early 1990s, Bartlett was engaged in a sustained dialogue between conceptual frameworks and emotional expression. While many artists of the period leaned toward abstraction or overt narrative, she maintained a quiet, systematic approach rooted in observation. This woodcut reflects a broader trend in American art of re-examining traditional techniques through a post-conceptual lens, prioritizing process over spectacle.

The work contributes to Bartlett’s broader redefinition of printmaking as a vehicle for conceptual rigor and subtle emotional nuance. By applying her grid-based language to woodcut, she expanded the possibilities of the medium beyond illustration or reproduction. Her approach influenced later artists interested in the intersection of structure, repetition, and material presence in contemporary prints.