Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a silver drawing by Pieter Laurens Mol. It dates from 1996 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Untitled, produced in 1996 by Dutch artist Pieter Laurens Mol, is a gelatin‑silver photograph that has been deliberately distressed with red lead paint. Though classified as a drawing, the work functions as a manipulated image that merges photographic realism with painterly intervention. The piece is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Subject & Meaning
An intense orange sky dominates the upper half, while the remainder of the scene remains in muted black and white tones.
The image depicts a narrow urban street flanked by aging brick façades on one side and a railway line on the other. An intense orange sky dominates the upper half, while the remainder of the scene remains in muted black and white tones. Suspended above the buildings are three stark black silhouettes of guns, and a metal fence runs parallel to the street, suggesting themes of confinement and latent threat.
Technique & Style
Mol began with a conventional gelatin‑silver print, then applied red lead pigment in a scraped, uneven manner, creating a distressed surface that disrupts the photograph’s smoothness. The added texture gives the work an aged, weathered appearance, blurring the line between photographic documentation and abstract expression.
History & Provenance
Created in 1996, Untitled entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection shortly after its completion, where it has been displayed in exhibitions exploring the intersection of photography and painting. The work remains in MoMA’s holdings, catalogued under the artist’s name and the title Untitled.
Context
Mol’s practice often investigates the relationship between image and materiality, employing industrial pigments and manual alteration to challenge the perceived objectivity of photography. Untitled aligns with late‑20th‑century trends that question the boundaries of medium, echoing contemporaneous works that merge documentary imagery with painterly gestures.
Artist & collection
