Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Martin Puryear. It dates from 2000 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2000, this untitled woodcut by Martin Puryear is part of a supplementary suite of seven prints accompanying an illustrated poetry volume. The image presents a solitary, softly contoured form that resembles a lopsided teardrop, rendered in deep black against a muted gray ground. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Subject & Meaning
The composition offers a single, ambiguous silhouette that invites personal interpretation. Its gentle, rounded edges and the sense of quiet presence suggest a breath-like pause, allowing viewers to project their own associations onto the shape rather than prescribing a specific narrative.
Technique & Style
Executed as a woodcut, the print relies on carving a relief matrix from a wood block, then inking and pressing it onto paper. The slightly worn, unfixed edges of the black form reveal the tactile qualities of the medium, emphasizing the hand‑made nature of the process while maintaining a restrained visual vocabulary.
History & Provenance
Puryear produced this piece as one of seven supplemental woodcuts designed to complement a ten‑print illustrated book of poems. After its creation, the print entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view as an example of the artist’s engagement with printmaking and literary collaboration.
Artist & collection
Artist
Martin L. Puryear is an American artist known for his devotion to traditional craft. Working in a variety of media, but primarily wood, his reductive technique and meditative approach challenge the physical and poetic…
