Untitled
1957
oil
canvas
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
1957
oil
canvas
From the collection of Museum of Modern Art
Untitled is a 1957 oil by Forrest Bess, a Abstract Expressionism work, held at Museum of Modern Art.
You see small symbols—circles, lines, and shapes—floating on a dark, textured background. The paint is thick in some spots, thin in others, like a map of something hidden. Bess painted these symbols as if they were visions. He believed they held secret meanings, almost like a private language. The wooden frame is part of the work, rough and handmade, as if the painting is a window to something else. To see more of his strange, personal worlds, look up other works by Forrest Bess.
Forrest Clemenger Bess was an American painter and fisherman. He was discovered and promoted by the art dealer Betty Parsons. He is known for his abstract, symbol-laden paintings based on what he called "visions."
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