Untitled

Jim Shaw

1979

An airbrush, colored pencil, and pencil on paper in which Jim Shaw fragments and recombines face-like forms to probe an uncanny zone between dream and everyday imagery.

Velvety airbrushed gradients meet sharp, folded-paper edges so that stitched mouths, an off-center round “eye,” and overlapping planes drift and reassemble like a surreal collage.

Made in 1979, the drawing shows Shaw’s early fusion of commercial airbrush technique and surreal collage, a move that helped bridge lowbrow visual language and fine-art practice to explore American imagery and the subconscious.

Palette

Art Terms

Drawing Colored pencil Pencil Surrealism Collage Figurative

Exhibitions

American Drawings and Watercolors: A Selection from the Collection

1969

Handmade Paper Prints and Unique Works

1976

Pop Art Prints, Drawings, and Multiples

1970

Rooms

1976