Untitled
1980
gouache
paper
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
Untitled is a 1980 gouache by Ellen Phelan, depicting Charcoal, held at Museum of Modern Art.
You see soft gray shapes floating on a pale background—almost like clouds or folded fabric. Phelan painted this in 1980, when many artists were using bright colors and sharp lines. She chose quiet tones instead, making the paper itself feel like part of the work. The edges blur, so you’re not sure where the shapes end and the background begins. If you like this quiet feel, look up more works by Ellen Phelan.
Ellen Phelan (born 1943) is an American artist known especially as a painter of formalist abstractions, psychologically charged scenes enacted by dolls, and landscapes.
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