Untitled
Lee Bontecou
American, 1931–2022
1959
A wall-mounted, aperture-like sculpture in which Lee Bontecou stretched canvas and black fabric across a welded steel frame, using soot and wire to create a stitched, mechanical-organic void that confronts the viewer.
You first notice a deep, pitch-black central hole surrounded by concentric, sewn-together panels with visible welds and scorched, bronze-toned surfaces that radiate outward like a map of ruptured terrain.
Dating from 1959, the work pushed postwar sculpture by combining industrial metalwork and textile practices to blur painting and sculpture, introducing a visceral, architectural void that influenced later abstract and feminist practices.
Medium
Welded steel, canvas, black fabric, soot, and wire
Dimensions
58 1/8 x 58 1/2 x 17 3/8" (147.5 x 148.5 x 44 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold H. Maremont
Accession
2.1960
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
