colorful abstract image; vertical format; black cross at top with red, turquoise, and orange rectangles on right and left, row of orange and green triangles at bottom, and tan form with curved bottom with orange wavy lines and green forms at center; tan half-circle with black border at bottom; long green wavy lines at left and right; red band at left, orange band at right; received in light finish strip frame

Untitled, 1969

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Dynamic, abstract colorful shapes and patterns animate this painting. The central vertical image is meant to evoke a dancer in ceremonial garb, masked at the top and in transformation. Ellsworth Ausby considered paintings such as this to represent ancestral spirits, riffing on the language of modern art but also costume and mask traditions of different African peoples. Ausby wrote of his desire through his paintings to “mirror the dynamo of our antecedent heritage despite the temerarious and presumptuous canons of the established art world.”

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Details
Title
Untitled
Artist Life
1942 - 2011
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2022.1.2
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.

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colorful abstract image; vertical format; black cross at top with red, turquoise, and orange rectangles on right and left, row of orange and green triangles at bottom, and tan form with curved bottom with orange wavy lines and green forms at center; tan half-circle with black border at bottom; long green wavy lines at left and right; red band at left, orange band at right; received in light finish strip frame
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