abstracted image of blurry oil field silhouette in black against yellow with white sun in URC

%C2%A9 Donald Sultan %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York

Oil Field, September 2004

Not on Viewexpand_more

Donald Sultan’s suite of prints “The Brutal, Unsentimental Landscape” is a pessimistic look at the human condition. Working at the intersection of abstraction and realism, Sultan produced a series of images that are ostensibly landscapes, but are actually personal reflections on war, violence, environmental degradation, and the impermanence of human endeavor. “Man is inherently self-destructive, and whatever is built will be destroyed,” he once said in commenting on the nihilism present in some of his work. Paradoxically, the intaglio prints possess an aesthetic appeal that belies their grim content; Sultan leaves this contradiction unaddressed.

Details
Title
Oil Field
Artist Life
born 1951
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2019.58.5.4
Provenance
(Ryan Lee Gallery, New York, sold to Mersky October 2017); Robert B. Mersky, Minneapolis; given to MIA, 2019
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

abstracted image of blurry oil field silhouette in black against yellow with white sun in URC

© Donald Sultan / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork.