Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Kenneth Showell. It dates from 1969 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1969, this print by Kenneth Showell combines offset and screenprint techniques to produce a composition of distinct, unblended color fields.
Created in 1969, this print by Kenneth Showell combines offset and screenprint techniques to produce a composition of distinct, unblended color fields. It resides in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. The work features bold blocks of red, green, yellow, and blue arranged asymmetrically over a light gray, textured ground. The surface suggests a tactile, slightly fractured substrate, enhancing the sense of material presence.
Subject & Meaning
The work avoids figurative reference, instead emphasizing formal relationships between color and surface. The irregular placement of shapes—some overlapping, others isolated—suggests spatial ambiguity without narrative intent. The absence of clear symbolism invites attention to the physicality of the print and the interaction of hue with texture, reflecting a mid-century interest in abstraction as a self-sufficient visual language.
Technique & Style
Showell employed screenprinting and offset methods to achieve sharp, flat color areas that resist blending, preserving the integrity of each hue. The underlying paper’s rough, cracked texture is deliberately preserved, allowing the ink to sit atop rather than sink into the surface. This contrast between precise color boundaries and tactile ground creates a dynamic tension between control and material spontaneity.
History & Provenance
The print was produced in 1969 and entered the collection of The Museum of Modern Art shortly thereafter. Its acquisition reflects the institution’s interest in postwar American printmaking that expanded beyond traditional techniques. No documented exhibition history prior to its museum acquisition is publicly available, though its style aligns with experimental print practices of the late 1960s.
Context
Emerging during a period when artists were redefining printmaking as a medium for conceptual and formal exploration, Showell’s work engages with contemporaneous trends in Color Field painting and Minimalism. The emphasis on non-narrative color and surface texture parallels developments in the work of artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Agnes Martin, though rooted in the more industrial processes of commercial printing.
Legacy
Though Showell did not achieve widespread recognition, this print contributes to a broader understanding of how printmakers in the late 1960s used technical constraints to explore abstraction. Its inclusion in MoMA’s collection situates it within a lineage of experimental prints that valued material process as much as visual outcome, influencing later generations interested in the intersection of craft and conceptual art.
Artist & collection
