Untitled #2
Vija Celmins
American, born Latvia 1938
2016
A mezzotint print in which Vija Celmins painstakingly renders a sparse field of stars, using deep, velvety blacks and tiny luminous points to evoke the hush and immensity of the night sky.
You first see a soft, square expanse of smoky darkness studded with irregular, glowing pinpricks whose subtle tonal shifts and haloed edges feel both photographic and intimately handmade, suggesting great depth.
By using an older printmaking technique to depict celestial imagery, Celmins connects photographic and scientific modes of seeing with meticulous craft, inviting reflection on how we try to contain and know vast, remote phenomena.
Medium
Mezzotint
Dimensions
plate: 15 3/4 × 14 15/16" (40 × 38 cm); sheet: 21 1/4 × 18 7/8" (54 × 48 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Jack Shear
Accession
613.2017
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
