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Untitled (Ocean)

A scene of India in vibrant yellows, oranges, greens, blues and reds. A white castle is in the background with a noble under a green umbrella and people trying to see him. Many guards can be seen with various weapons.

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  • A scene of India in vibrant yellows, oranges, greens, blues and reds. A white castle is in the background with a noble under a green umbrella and people trying to see him. Many guards can be seen with various weapons.

Date:

1968

Artist:

Vija Celmins
American, born 1938

About this artwork

Vija Celmins’s subtle reworking of a photograph has imbued this oceanscape with an intimacy in perspective and a univesal timelessness in feeling. She effaced the perpetual flux and infinite quality of the ocean by narrowing the field of vision; by truncating the scene, she isolated a segment of an otherwise vast panorama. A variety of lead densities produces the soft monochromatic forms of the undulating water. Celmins eliminated color and compositional devices, producing a field of pattern and texture-a process evincing the naturalist landscape and abstract expressionist traditions that influenced her work.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Vija Celmins

Title

Untitled (Ocean)

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1968

Medium

Graphite on paper

Dimensions

Sight: 35.5 × 47.5 cm (14 × 18 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Lannan Foundation

Reference Number

1997.106

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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