Artwork
Phillips, William - Malerei, Landscape with pink
Phillips, William - Malerei, Landscape with pink is an unspecified painting by William Phillips. It dates from 1964 and is held in the collection of the Archaeology and Museum Baselland.
About this work
Overview
William Phillips’ 1964 work titled Landscape with pink is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography. Though named as a landscape, the composition consists of abstracted color fields rather than recognizable natural elements. The painting measures a modest size and exemplifies Phillips’ interest in the interplay of hue and form during the mid‑1960s.
Technique & Style
The canvas is divided into a series of flat blocks rendered in soft blues, pinks, greens and whites. The shapes are deliberately misaligned, creating a subtle sense of tension as they interlock like imperfect puzzle pieces. Certain sections reveal a textured, brushy surface, while others appear smooth and almost translucent, contributing to a calm, muted visual rhythm.
History & Provenance
Created in 1964, the painting entered the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings at an unspecified date, where it remains on view. Its acquisition reflects the institution’s broader effort to document mid‑century European abstraction alongside its ethnographic collections, situating Phillips within a cross‑disciplinary curatorial narrative.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Phillips painted the 1960s American landscape like it was a quiet joke, think pink roads that vanish into nowhere and telephone wires that hum in the heat.
