Defenestration Suite #3
Christopher Wool
American, born 1955
2023
An etching with aquatint by Christopher Wool that pairs the printed word “defenestration” with a dense knot of looping, calligraphic black marks to stage a tug between language and physical action.
You first notice a rigid, faintly printed rectangular field invaded by restless, variable‑thickness lines that loop, cross and slice through the central word, the plate’s burr and dusty impressions giving the surface a raw, worked texture.
Translating his verbal provocation into print, Wool fuses typographic and gestural traditions to show how text can acquire corporeal, even violent meaning when embedded in abstract, painterly marks.
Medium
Etching with aquatint
Dimensions
plate: 12 5/8 × 10" (32 × 25.4 cm); sheet: 18 × 15" (45.7 × 38.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of Mary M. and Sash A. Spencer
Accession
416.2024
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
