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Simon Hantaï Untitled [Suite "Blancs"] 1973

  • Not on view

Hantaï executed this work using his signature method of “pliage,” or folding: he knotted parts of an unstretched canvas, brushed on paint, and then, once the acrylic had dried, untied the surface to reveal interplays of paint and ground. What looks like a playful image is in reality the chance outcome of a highly technical procedure. A mentor to artists such as Daniel Buren, whose work is also on view in this gallery, Hantaï developed an approach that combined features from diverse art movements, including Surrealism’s automatism—in which conscious control is surrendered—and Pop’s and Minimalism’s elimination of traces of the artist’s hand.

Gallery label from 2020
Medium
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions
10' 1/4" x 15' 3 1/4" (305.3 x 466.5 cm)
Credit
Acquired through the Carol Buttenwieser Loeb and Arnold A. Saltzman Funds
Object number
103.1982.a-b
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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