Artwork
Untitled
About this work
Overview
Untitled, executed in 1929, is an encaustic painting on canvas that resides in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The work presents a tightly organized grid populated by diminutive numbers and letters, rendered in white or pale yellow against a similarly light background. The surface is markedly reliefed, giving the marks a tactile, three‑dimensional quality.
Subject & Meaning
The composition consists of repeated numerals, such as 2 and 5, and isolated alphabetic characters, each appearing as if carved or stamped into the wax medium. By foregrounding ordinary symbols in an abstract field, the piece invites contemplation of language as visual form, a concern that aligns with the artist’s broader interest in the intersection of perception and representation.
Technique & Style
Johns employed the ancient encaustic method, mixing pigment with heated beeswax and applying it in thick layers that solidify quickly. The resulting impasto creates raised, glossy surfaces that catch light differently across the canvas. This tactile approach situates the work within the abstract expressionist tendency toward material emphasis and gestural surface.
History & Provenance
Since its creation, the painting has remained in the United States, ultimately entering the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The museum acquired the work as part of its effort to document the development of post‑war American abstraction, though specific acquisition details are not publicly recorded.
Context
Although often linked to abstract expressionism, the piece also anticipates later movements that foregrounded everyday iconography, such as Pop Art. Its use of familiar alphanumeric signs predates Johns’s more widely known flag and target motifs, marking an early exploration of the visual potential of commonplace symbols.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker.
