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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Drift
Kenneth Noland (American, 1924–2010)
1972
Medium/Technique
Acrylic emulsion on canvas
Dimensions
198.8 x 366.6 cm (78 1/4 x 144 1/3 in.)
Credit Line
Sophie M. Friedman Fund and Anonymous gift
Accession Number1979.488
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas
ClassificationsPaintings
In 1977 Noland described the experimental process of color-field artists in these words: "We were making abstract art, but we wanted to simplify the selection of materials . . . To get to raw canvas, to use the canvas unstretched-to use it in more basic or fundamental ways, to use it as fabric rather than as a stretched surface. To use paint, thinner and more economically, to find new paints, from the industrial system, like plastics."
In this work, a soft, stained surface of tonal gradations is outlined with crisp stripes whose slightly raised edges indicate that tape or some other guide was used. The contrast of glossy and matte paint intensifies the tension between the surface and the sharp lines.
In this work, a soft, stained surface of tonal gradations is outlined with crisp stripes whose slightly raised edges indicate that tape or some other guide was used. The contrast of glossy and matte paint intensifies the tension between the surface and the sharp lines.
ProvenanceThe artist; with William Pall Gallery, 1976; with Solomon & Co., New York, 1979; to MFA, Boston, 1979
Copyright© Kenneth Noland, Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY