Untitled

Untitled

While most of the works presented in this exhibition are print based items, this work demonstrates the multidisciplinary aspect of Betye Saar’s artistic practice. Creating connection between multiple surfaces is central to the artist’s methodology; using found objects, scraps, and the layering of materiality and narratives, Saar’s work celebrates textures and multiplicity of form. In this untitled piece, what looks like a heavy pour of colorful acrylic paints is an illusion. Appearing almost to be ripped from another surface, the piece of handmade colored paper lives in the center of the piece, showcasing an abstract flow of color and figurative elements such as the blue fish and a miniature yellow fan, a found material layered atop the abstract ground.

This work is part of artist Kevin Cole’s private collection. When asked about this piece by Saar, Cole explains that he acquired it in 2000 from another collector, and when he and Saar’s paths crossed again at the Des Moines Art Center a few years later, the work prompted a long conversation on perseverance.

Betye Saar

1963

Mixed media collage

Collection of Kevin Cole