So lets was painted by Sue Tompkins in 2007.

Where can I see So lets?

So lets is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

So lets by Sue Tompkins (2007) — Meaning & Museum

About this work

Overview

Sue Tompkins’ 2007 work “So lets” is a printed sheet on thin, off‑white paper that bears the physical traces of handling. The surface shows scuffs, a tear along the right margin and an off‑center vertical crease. Minimal typographic elements appear on both sides, while the reverse carries the artist’s signature, emphasizing the object’s materiality over pictorial content.

Subject & Meaning

The piece foregrounds absence, presenting a near‑blank rectangle that invites contemplation of the paper as a carrier of meaning. Sparse textual fragments—such as “I write to you in this frame of mind” and a nonsensical paragraph ending with “R.S.V.P”—suggest a dialogue about communication, invitation, and the limits of language within a seemingly empty field.

Technique & Style

Executed as a print, the work relies on the flatness of the paper rather than pigment or brushwork. The faint grid of numbers and letters in the top‑right corner resembles an inventory code, while a subtle smudge and a handwritten mark add a hand‑made, imperfect quality that contrasts with the otherwise sterile surface.

History & Provenance

Created in 2007, “So lets” reflects Tompkins’ practice of using everyday materials to question artistic conventions. The work has been exhibited in contexts that explore spatial perception, and its provenance includes acquisition by institutions interested in contemporary print media and conceptual approaches to minimalism.

Context

Tompkins’ print aligns with a lineage of artists who manipulate void and marginalia to interrogate the viewer’s expectations of visual content. Comparable investigations of space and material can be found in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, where works that foreground the physicality of objects rather than representational imagery are displayed.