Untitled (Double Purple), 1980
JOEL SHAPIRO
JOEL SHAPIRO
Untitled (Double Green), 1980
Lithograph on Arches Cover Paper
41 1/2 x 29 1/2 in | 105.4 x 75 cm
Edition 25 of 30 (+10AP)
Signed, Dated, and Numbered in Pencil
Further images
Provenance
About the piece:Shapiro experimented prominently with printmaking in the 1970’s using different techniques to produce a collection of over fifty editions with New York-based publishers. This piece, part of Joel Shapiro’s 1980 edition of Untitled Purple, Red, and Green prints, is from his limited work in lithography which uses a rigid metal plate is its production. Nevertheless, this work manages to show a subtle fluidity with its impromptu-like outline alongside the curvature of a colored motif, exhibiting precisely the artist’s lifelong concern with spatial relationships.
Literature
Artist Bio:Born in New York City, Joel Shapiro is a renowned minimalist artist, specializing in the use of geometric shapes to signify themes of balance, projection, and movement. Along with obtaining his BA and MA from NYU, he worked in the Peace Corps in India for two years where the seamless blending of art within society would inspire him to become an artist and result in his collection of urban pieces. Shapiro’s early career was influenced by the works of abstract artists such as Richard Serra and Donald Judd, resulting in smaller pieces that experimented with concepts of scale and proportion as they relate to the human experience.
Shapiro would find later inspiration in the modernist works of Degas and Brâncusi and shift his focus to creating larger pieces that weren’t confined by the limits of interior spaces. This resulted in a body of minimalist outdoor sculptures made from rigid industrial materials yet reflecting humans in motion. His pieces now occupy the grounds and permanent collections of Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art and Kennedy Center, as well as the Tate Gallery in London, and Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE WORK
Untitled (Purple) was produced by Joel Shapiro in 1980 as one of three works, alongside iterations in red and green. This print is part of the artist's brief work in lithography, which uses a rigid metal plate in its production. However, despite the technique, the work shows a subtle fluidity with its impromptu-like sketch juxtaposed alongside the curvature of a colored motif. Its minimalism epitomizes the artist's lifelong interest in spatial relationships and his preference for using a single, vibrant color. This work was printed on Arches Cover paper by Derrière l'Étoile Studios in New York and published by Brooke Alexander Editions.
This lithograph has undergone restorative treatment by an AIC specialist to regain the original brightness of the Arches paper. Please contact the gallery for more information.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Joel Shapiro (b. 1941) is a renowned minimalist artist who uses geometric shapes to signify themes of balance, projection, and movement. Born in New York City, Shapiro obtained his BA and MA from NYU and worked in the Peace Corps during the intervening years. He spent part of that time in India, where he observed the country's seamless blending of art into everyday society. This experience inspired him to become an artist and focus on sculptural forms for urban spaces.
In the early part of his career, Shapiro produced smaller, sculptural pieces that experimented with concepts of scale and proportion as they relate to the human experience. He also experimented with various types of printmaking, depicting geometric shapes and spatial studies across more than fifty sets of editions. He later became influenced by artists such as Richard Serra and Donald Judd and shifted his focus to creating larger pieces unconfined by the limits of interior spaces. This transition resulted in an extensive body of monumental, minimalist sculptures derived from rigid industrial materials yet depicting the human form in whimsical motion and painted in bright primary colors. Shapiro's pieces now occupy the grounds and permanent collections of Washington DC's National Gallery of Art and Kennedy Center, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Related artworks
