Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite drawing by Cildo Meireles. It dates from 1992 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1992, this drawing by Cildo Meireles is executed in pencil and felt-tip pen on transparent paper. It resides in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. The composition presents a flat, angled surface populated by irregularly spaced, softly rendered circular forms. The material’s translucency suggests an intention for backlighting, altering how the image is perceived in space.
Subject & Meaning
Two red-pencil titles, 'Old Brave New Worlds' and 'Glove-Trotter', appear as cryptic annotations, offering conceptual entry points without defining the image.
Two red-pencil titles, 'Old Brave New Worlds' and 'Glove-Trotter', appear as cryptic annotations, offering conceptual entry points without defining the image. The abstract arrangement of shapes resists literal interpretation, instead evoking themes of displacement, systems, or fragmented memory. The titles function as poetic clues, inviting reflection on cultural and technological shifts without direct illustration.
Technique & Style
The artist employs minimal, faint pencil and ink lines to create a sense of subtlety and impermanence. Forms vary slightly in size and density, arranged without symmetry or hierarchy. The use of transparent paper emphasizes layering and light, while the absence of shading or texture keeps focus on the arrangement of marks rather than illusionistic depth.
History & Provenance
The work entered The Museum of Modern Art’s collection following its creation in 1992. It is part of a broader body of drawings by Meireles that explore materiality and perception. No public record indicates prior ownership or exhibition history before its acquisition, suggesting it was produced as a standalone piece within the artist’s ongoing investigation of drawing as a conceptual medium.
Context
Made during a period when Meireles was increasingly engaged with systems of communication and perception, this work aligns with his interest in how meaning is constructed through minimal visual cues. The transparency of the paper echoes his earlier installations involving layered signals and invisible structures, extending his exploration into the intimate scale of drawing.
Legacy
This drawing exemplifies Meireles’ commitment to reducing visual language to its essentials while retaining conceptual weight. Its quiet presence has influenced subsequent artists working with transparency, ephemeral mark-making, and the intersection of text and abstraction. It remains a quiet but persistent reference in discussions of conceptual drawing in late 20th-century Latin American art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cildo Meireles is a Brazilian conceptual artist, installation artist and sculptor.
