Skip to Content
Today Open today 11–8

Trouble

A work made of alkyd and acrylic on aluminum.

Image actions

  • A work made of alkyd and acrylic on aluminum.

Date:

1989

Artist:

Christopher Wool
American, born 1955

About this artwork

Christopher Wool’s compositions explore the intersection between signage and language, pattern and decoration. His painting method involves the use of commercially produced stamps, screens, rollers, and stencils to ironically achieve “allover” surfaces. In 1987 he began making “word paintings,” canvases consisting of single words and phrases—often with irregular spacing and line breaks—in block letters with visible drips and other handmade imperfections. Trouble belongs to a series of paintings of pointedly four-letter words, such as fear, riot, and amok, in which Wool stacked the letters two by two. Here the vowels have been deleted, shortening trouble to optimize its graphic, visual impact. Wool’s paintings are typically black-and-white; this variation is thus unique within the artist’s practice.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Christopher Wool

Title

Trouble

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.

1989

Medium

Alkyd and acrylic on aluminum

Dimensions

182.9 × 121.9 cm (72 × 48 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Frances Dittmer

Reference Number

2014.640

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.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share