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Untitled

A solidly black image in which hazy form, perhaps a figure, appears slightly left of center in a mottled hue slightly lighter thank the surrounding black.

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  • A solidly black image in which hazy form, perhaps a figure, appears slightly left of center in a mottled hue slightly lighter thank the surrounding black.

Date:

1999

Artist:

Ellen Gallagher
American, born 1965

About this artwork

Ellen Gallagher’s large-scale works use repetitive forms and both common and unorthodox materials to create subtly layered surfaces. Her elaborate and labor-intensive method of building figures and forms presents loaded imagery—often uncomfortable racial signifiers—in ways that disrupt predictable readings. In Untitled Gallagher built up patterns melded out of rubber to articulate what she refers to as a fantasy rendering of an African, delineated by a system of elegant yet abbreviated signs indicating hair, skin, tattoos, and jewelry.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Ellen Gallagher

Title

Untitled

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.

1999

Medium

Enamel, rubber, and paper on canvas

Dimensions

305 × 244 cm (120 × 96 in.)

Credit Line

Major Acquisitions Fund

Reference Number

2004.479

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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