Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Mavis Pusey. It dates from 1968 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1968, this screenprint by Mavis Pusey presents a composition of stark black lines and geometric forms, punctuated by a single vivid orange circle within a central black rectangle. The work’s flat color fields and intersecting shapes generate a sense of movement and tension, reflecting the artist’s interest in the visual language of urban construction.
Subject & Meaning
The arrangement of squares, circles and linear elements suggests an abstracted cityscape, where the orange circle functions as a focal point amid the surrounding black and white geometry. By reducing architectural motifs to pure forms, Pusey explores the rhythm of built environments and the interplay between solidity and fragmentation.
Technique & Style
Executed as a screenprint, the piece relies on precise, hard-edged application of ink, yielding clean, uniform surfaces. The limited palette—dominant black with a contrasting orange accent—heightens the visual impact, while the overlapping shapes create a layered, almost kinetic effect characteristic of Pusey’s non‑representational abstraction.
History & Provenance
The print is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, acquired after its initial exhibition in the late 1960s. It remains an example of Pusey’s prolific output during a period when she was establishing her reputation as a leading figure in American abstract art.
Context
Pusey’s work emerged amid a broader movement toward geometric abstraction in the 1960s, a time when many artists were investigating the visual vocabulary of modern architecture and urban development. Her Jamaican heritage and American training contributed to a distinctive synthesis of cultural references and formalist concerns.
Artist & collection
Artist
Mavis Iona Pusey (September 17, 1928 – April 20, 2019) was a Jamaican-born American abstract artist.
