black rectangle on brown paper with white/brown horizontal line at center and across bottom

%C2%A9 2014 Brice Marden %2F Artists Rights Society %28ARS%29%2C New York

Untitled, 1966

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This untitled drawing is an exemplar of Brice Marden’s long-standing interest in exploring the spatial and structural properties of the rectangle. It also demonstrates his penchant for combining gestural mark making with a rigid geometric framework. Marden first gained notice in the mid-1960s with a succession of luminous monochromatic paintings and grid-patterned drawings that explored the expressive potential of color, light, and surface. Blending painterly tactility, a subdued palette, and formal restraint, these abstract works possessed a lyricism and subtlety that contrasted with the cool, emotionally detached style of his Minimalist contemporaries. Gestural marks impart a frenetic energy reminiscent of works by “action painters” of the Abstract Expressionist school. The composition is bordered by untouched paper calculated to establish spatial balance and a harmonious whole.

Details
Title
Untitled
Artist Life
1938 - 2023
Role
Artist
Accession Number
70.29
Provenance
[The New Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio]; sold to MIA, 1970.
Curator Approved

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black rectangle on brown paper with white/brown horizontal line at center and across bottom

© 2014 Brice Marden / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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