Gold Sculpture
Joseph Beuys
German, 1921–1986
1956
A collage-like arrangement of small studies and notes in pencil and metallic paint on six sheets of paper mounted on board, in which Beuys tests forms, surfaces, and the idea of a 'gold' sculpture.
A quiet white field holds torn and taped scraps—tiny rendered boxes, a dark oval, a dangling sketch and messy handwriting—where faint metallic paint catches the eye and turns these informal fragments into something like ritual fragments pinned for inspection.
Executed early in Beuys’s career, this work inscribes drawing as the laboratory of sculpture and anticipates his later practice of imbuing everyday materials with symbolic, quasi‑alchemical meaning.
Medium
Pencil and metallic paint on six sheets of paper on board
Dimensions
30 7/8 x 23" (78.4 x 58.4 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of UBS
Accession
113.2002.a-f
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
