Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Wifredo Lam. It dates from 1967 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1967, this untitled lithograph belongs to a series of twelve prints—eleven lithographs and a single screenprint—assembled by Cuban artist Wifredo Lam. The work is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and exemplifies Lam’s ongoing investigation of cultural hybridity through the medium of printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a mechanized figure whose outer shell resembles a robot, yet its interior reveals a human skeleton. A hovering helicopter, occupied by a pilot, surveys the scene from above. The juxtaposition of organic and industrial elements suggests a dialogue between humanity and technology, echoing Lam’s broader interest in merging disparate cultural symbols.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the print combines bold ink splatters with precise line work, giving the surface a spontaneous, textured quality.
Executed in lithography, the print combines bold ink splatters with precise line work, giving the surface a spontaneous, textured quality. A limited palette of black, gray, and yellow dominates, punctuated by subtle touches of red and blue. The composition reflects Lam’s synthesis of Afro‑Cuban motifs with modernist visual language, recalling the fragmented forms of Picasso and the decorative vigor of Matisse.
History & Provenance
The lithograph was produced as part of Lam’s 1967 portfolio, a body of work that marked his mature period of print production. After its creation, the piece entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view as a representative example of Lam’s print oeuvre.
Context
Lam’s career was shaped by his Cuban heritage and his encounters with European avant‑garde artists in Paris. By the 1960s, he was integrating Afro‑Cuban religious iconography with the abstracted forms of modernism, a synthesis evident in this print’s blend of figurative and mechanical imagery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (Chinese: 林飛龍; Jyutping: lam4 fei1lung4; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit…
