Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor drawing by Matthew Barney. It dates from 2003 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2003, this work consists of three sheets of paper rendered with pencil, watercolor, and petroleum jelly, each mounted in a rotomolded polyethylene frame reinforced with nylon fiber. The composition presents a stark white border surrounding a vivid yellow field, the border’s irregular, textured edge contrasting with the smooth, flat central color.
Subject & Meaning
The piece continues Barney’s investigation of bodily and mythological motifs, employing the elemental palette of yellow to evoke notions of energy and transformation while the fragmented framing suggests a puzzle-like assembly, hinting at the dissection of form and narrative.
Technique & Style
Barney combines drawing media—graphite and watercolor—with the unconventional application of petroleum jelly, creating subtle translucency and surface variation. The frames, fabricated by rotomolding, give the work a sculptural presence, blurring the line between two‑dimensional drawing and three‑dimensional object.
History & Provenance
Produced shortly after the completion of Barney’s five‑part Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002), the work entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of contemporary American art.
Context
Situated within Barney’s multidisciplinary practice, the drawing reflects his ongoing engagement with themes of geography, biology, and myth, extending the cinematic and sculptural concerns of his earlier film series into a compact, wall‑mounted format.
Artist & collection
Artist
Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing.
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Farfurie de tip platou, cu muchia buzei ridicată și ondulată. Este acoperită pe suprafața interioară cu un strat de angobă albă, peste care este pictat cu pensula decorul format din motive vegetale și geometrice: cinci flori albastre dispuse în formă de stea, intercalate cu frunze de culoare verde și grupuri de linii curbe paralele de culoare maro-închis, de asemenea dispuse în formă de stea. În centru este pictată o floare cu petale de culoare galben-ocru. Decorul este completat cu puncte de culoare galben-ocru. Suprafața ornamentată a farfuriei este acoperită cu un strat de smalț transparent. Cromatica: alb, verde, maro-închis, albastru, galben-ocru.
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Göttin, Daniel - Malerei, o.T. 9