Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Kim Beom. It dates from 2016 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
It belongs to a cohesive series, each piece sharing a minimalist aesthetic and a focus on material ambiguity.
Untitled is one of eleven lithographs produced by Kim Beom in 2016. Created using the lithographic process, the work features a single indistinct dark form on a pale ground. The image lacks defined contours, appearing instead as an inked stain. It belongs to a cohesive series, each piece sharing a minimalist aesthetic and a focus on material ambiguity. The print is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The subject resists clear interpretation: a blurred, organic shape evokes accidental marks or biological forms without identifying as either. Its ambiguity invites contemplation of perception and representation. Faint text at the base adds a layer of obscured communication, suggesting the limits of language or the erosion of meaning. The work does not narrate but rather presents an open-ended visual puzzle.
Technique & Style
The image was made using lithography, a planographic method where ink is transferred from a flat stone or metal plate to paper. Beom exploited the medium’s capacity for subtle tonal variation, allowing the ink to bleed and pool unpredictably. The resulting form has no sharp edges, emphasizing texture over delineation. The style aligns with conceptual minimalism, prioritizing process and material presence over figurative clarity.
History & Provenance
Created in 2016, the work is part of a limited series of eleven lithographs by Kim Beom. It entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its production, acquired as part of a broader interest in contemporary Korean artists engaging with abstraction and print media. Its provenance is documented through the artist’s studio and the publisher’s records, with no prior private ownership recorded.
Context
Beom’s work emerges from a Korean contemporary art context that questions institutional authority and visual certainty. His use of indeterminate forms parallels broader global trends in post-conceptual printmaking, where the physicality of the medium becomes the subject. This series responds to the tension between control and chance in artistic production, reflecting on how meaning is constructed—or lost—in reproduction.
Legacy
Untitled contributes to an evolving dialogue around abstraction in printmaking, particularly within Asian contemporary art. Its restrained form and emphasis on material process have influenced younger artists exploring the limits of the printed image. While not widely reproduced, its inclusion in MoMA’s collection ensures its presence in scholarly discussions on non-representational print practices of the 21st century.
Artist & collection
