Two Pink Stripes and Negative Collage (Primary Title)
Robert Motherwell, American, 1915 - 1991 (Artist)
"An artist is someone who has an abnormal sensitivity to medium. The main thing is not to be dead. And everyone is dead, painter or not. Only an alive person can make an alive expression." —Robert Motherwell
Motherwell’s work often creates tension between a preconceived compositional structure and spontaneous gestures. In the early 1960s he produced hundreds of drawings entitled Beside the Sea, which combined horizontal bands across the bottom of the paper with a splash in the center.The flatness reflected the constancy of the ocean, and the splatters repesented the power and specificity of individual waves. Two Pink Stripes also features bands and splashes. However, here Motherwell has further complicated the process by introducing the concept of a “negative collage.” It appears that he pressed fabric onto still-wet paint and peeled it off, leaving the impression of the fabric’s texture on the surface and areas of exposed paper where the fabric lifted the paint with it.
"Encounter II: Color", Artmobile exhibition, September 1972 - February 1974
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.