What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Part I

A profound interest in space–and more specifically outer space–is the common tie between pioneering multi-media artist Lee Bontecou’s iconic wall sculptures and later graphite drawings on black paper. Of her work, Bontecou once said “I had a joy and excitement about outer space–nothing was known about the black holes–just huge, intangible, dangerous entities.” While some of Bontecou’s drawings directly relate to sculptural work, Untitled firmly belongs to a group of drawings characterized by delicate, floating forms executed with a limited color palette on black paper. Similar drawings dating from the 1980s through the 2000s are somewhat of a departure from earlier drawings in the artist’s œuvre, including her “worldscapes” from late 1950s and 1960s.

Bontecou perfected her innovative technique of incorporating soot into her work as a Fulbright Scholar in Rome (1956-1957), having previously learned the skill of welding earlier that decade at the Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting, Maine. Some of Bontecou’s “worldscapes” have a solidity that show a strong connection with her three-dimensional work, while others possess a more ethereal and anthropomorphic quality, with softened, blurred passages highlighted by the artist’s selective smudging. While Bontecou sought to “harness the black” with her “worldscapes,” the distinctive group of silver pencil drawings, which include the present work, are completed against a black background and depict phantasmic, hovering flora-like shapes. Many are simply called: Untitled.