DNA: Etching I

2015
Not on view
Binion combines geometric forms and repetitive patterns with layers of personal archival materials he terms his "DNA." Laser prints from an address book kept since the 1970s and his birth certificate create the surface on which paint or colored inks—often arranged in a grid—rest. These elements record his development as both a person and an artist and act as what Binion calls his "underconscious," the surface over which he adds marks, forms, patterns, and colors. Though repetitive linear elements, such as those found in Minimalist art, connote a sense of detachment, Binion’s markings are hand drawn and irregular. His surfaces have a textural, three-dimensional quality that recalls quilts and other fiber arts, as well as baskets and woven forms.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: DNA: Etching I
  • Artist: McArthur Binion (American, born 1946)
  • Date: 2015
  • Medium: Color aquatint, sugarlift aquatint, and etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 40 1/4 × 27 1/2 in. (102.2 × 69.9 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: John B. Turner Fund, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.402
  • Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of the artist and Paulson Fontaine Press
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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