Rose Rock
By the late 1960s, Barbara Rossi came to be associated with the Chicago Imagists, with whom she shared an interest in the work of self-taught or uncredentialed artists. She also developed a fascination with the paintings of Mughal India, appreciating their exquisite application of paint, their spiritual and narrative associations, and their density and multiplicity of visual information. Rose Rock, for instance, takes its name from a moment in the Hindu epic Harivamsa, in which the divinity Krishna lifts Mount Govardhan to protect the villagers of Braj.
It exemplifies Rossi's work from the early 1970s, when she experimented with reverse painting on Plexiglas and a kind of organic abstraction in which the body appears in altered, almost unrecognizable form. Using a meticulous technique with little margin for error or improvisation, Rose Rock consists of a single sheet of Plexiglas. On the verso Rossi painted the main composition, which features a compressed mass of bulging, tubular forms in shades of white, pink, blue, and green that suggest animal and human body parts. Areas of black paint frame the composition, following its contours exactly. To the recto, Rossi applied pin-sized dots in various colors. The white dots form regular diamond patterns, while the others, arranged in more dynamic configurations, interact with the painting on the verso, upon which they cast shadows. The dots that embellish paintings such as Rose Rock might have taken their inspiration from Rossi’s earlier quilts, which included both sequins and beads.
It exemplifies Rossi's work from the early 1970s, when she experimented with reverse painting on Plexiglas and a kind of organic abstraction in which the body appears in altered, almost unrecognizable form. Using a meticulous technique with little margin for error or improvisation, Rose Rock consists of a single sheet of Plexiglas. On the verso Rossi painted the main composition, which features a compressed mass of bulging, tubular forms in shades of white, pink, blue, and green that suggest animal and human body parts. Areas of black paint frame the composition, following its contours exactly. To the recto, Rossi applied pin-sized dots in various colors. The white dots form regular diamond patterns, while the others, arranged in more dynamic configurations, interact with the painting on the verso, upon which they cast shadows. The dots that embellish paintings such as Rose Rock might have taken their inspiration from Rossi’s earlier quilts, which included both sequins and beads.
Artwork Details
- Title: Rose Rock
- Artist: Barbara Rossi (American, Chicago 1940–2023)
- Date: 1972
- Medium: Acrylic on Plexiglas in an artist’s frame
- Dimensions: 27 13/16 × 23 3/4 in. (70.6 × 60.3 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Kohler Foundation Inc., 2022
- Object Number: 2022.134.1
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Barbara Rossi
1982
Alma Thomas
1972
Henry Taylor
2017
Ed Clark
1966
Mark Rothko
1958
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.