Untitled

Untitled

Barry Le Va

1982

pastel

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting looks like a messy, geometric puzzle. Black lines crisscross the whole thing, forming sharp triangles and squares. Some sections are covered in scribbles, dots, and faint red or blue marks. Shadows of what might be tools or hands appear in the white spaces, as if someone was working on it. The artist used thin, see-through paper cutouts stuck to the surface, layered over charcoal and paint. It feels like a sketch that got built up over time, with lots of different marks. Next, check out pastel to see how this soft, chalky material works in art.

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