Untitled Etching #1
Barnett Newman American
Printer Donn Steward American
Publisher Universal Limited Art Editions American
Not on view
Newman’s work is structured by what he termed "zips"—vertical lines that direct attention to the material properties of the work and the viewer’s engagement with it—which became a kind of visual signature for the artist. Untitled Etching #1, originally conceived as a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., recalls Newman’s 1961 painting Shining Forth (To George), made shortly after the death of the artist’s brother. Both works are horizontal and have stark black-and-white contrasts, with a prominent central zip that acts as an axis dividing the surface into two equal sections. The painting and print each contain a solid black stripe on the left; in the etching, Newman replaced the painting’s brushy black marks on the right with four thin and tightly compressed lines, showing his use of a language related to printmaking.
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