Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a paint painting by the Contemporary Abstract artist Kelley Walker. It dates from 2008 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
This painting looks like a wall made of bricks, but it’s actually layered with newspaper, The New York Times from 2008.
This painting looks like a wall made of bricks, but it’s actually layered with newspaper, The New York Times from 2008. The bricks are printed in shades of gray and brown, with some dark red splotches scattered across. The paper edges peek out in places, and the top has a thin red border. It feels like a mix of a building and a collage.
The artist used real newspaper as the canvas, gluing it down and printing over it. That’s unusual, most paintings don’t start with a newspaper!
Want to know more? Check out Kelley Walker.
Overview
Created in 2008, this untitled work by Kelley Walker consists of a four‑color silkscreen applied to a canvas that incorporates a single page of The New York Times dated Sunday, October 5, 2008. The composition resembles a brick wall rendered in muted grays and browns, punctuated by occasional dark‑red splotches and a thin red strip along the top edge. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Technique & Style
Walker’s process begins with the physical attachment of the newspaper page to the canvas, after which a silkscreen print is layered atop the printed surface. The four‑color process reproduces the brick‑like pattern while allowing fragments of the original paper to remain visible at the edges, creating a hybrid of printmaking, collage, and painting. The limited palette and repetitive motif emphasize the work’s constructed, almost architectural quality.
Subject & Meaning
The visual reference to a brick façade, combined with the literal inclusion of a contemporary newspaper, invites consideration of how mass media and built environments intersect. The muted tones suggest the weathered surface of a wall, while the occasional red accents disrupt the monotony, perhaps alluding to the fleeting, sensational elements that punctuate daily news cycles.
History & Provenance
After its completion in 2008, the work entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s ongoing interest in artists who interrogate the boundaries between painting, print, and found objects, situating Walker within a lineage of contemporary practices that repurpose everyday printed material.
Artist & collection
Artist
Kelley Walker is an American post-conceptual artist who lives and works in New York City.
