Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite drawing by Thomas Scheibitz. It dates from 2002 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
It is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection and reflects the artist’s interest in translating architectural forms into abstracted visual language.
Created in 2002, this drawing by Thomas Scheibitz combines ink, pencil, ballpoint pen, and colored pencil on paper. It is part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection and reflects the artist’s interest in translating architectural forms into abstracted visual language. The work belongs to a body of drawings that precede and inform his larger paintings and sculptures, emphasizing process and material variation.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a simplified, abstracted structure with a peaked roof and linear textures suggesting wooden cladding. Rather than representing a specific building, it evokes the memory of architectural forms—perhaps from the artist’s East German surroundings. The ambiguity invites interpretation without anchoring the viewer to a literal place or function.
Technique & Style
Scheibitz employs a range of tools to build the composition: fine ink lines define structure, ballpoint pen adds density, pencil softens edges, and colored pencil introduces subtle tonal shifts. The interplay of precise geometry and gestural marks—dots, squiggles, hatching—creates visual tension between order and spontaneity, characteristic of his approach to representation.
History & Provenance
The work entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its creation, reflecting institutional recognition of Scheibitz’s emerging practice. It was made during a period of transition in his career, as he moved from painting toward more complex, layered compositions. Its inclusion in MoMA’s holdings situates it within broader contemporary dialogues on drawing and abstraction.
Context
Scheibitz, based in Berlin, was developing a visual vocabulary that merged architectural references with abstract signs drawn from urban environments and cultural memory. In the early 2000s, his work aligned with a generation of German artists re-examining post-reunification identity through formal experimentation, often avoiding direct political commentary in favor of structural suggestion.
Legacy
This drawing exemplifies Scheibitz’s ongoing exploration of how everyday visual information—buildings, signs, diagrams—can be reconfigured into non-representational compositions. His later collaborations, including the 2005 Venice Biennale with Tino Sehgal, extended this interest into performance, reinforcing his commitment to the transformation of spatial and visual cues across media.
Artist & collection
Artist
Thomas Scheibitz (born 1968 in Radeberg, East Germany) is a German painter and sculptor. Together with Tino Sehgal he created the German pavilion on the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005. He lives and works in Berlin.
