abstraction | 1-50 | Search Results | University of Michigan Museum of Art | University of Michigan Library Digital Collections

Sphere with Colour (Grey and White); Barbara Hepworth

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Title: Sphere with Colour (Grey and White)
Artist: Barbara Hepworth
Physical Description: Oval-shaped piece of veined, green Swedish marble standing on one of its narrow ends. Three holes of different sizes penetrate into the object's center. The holes are painted respectively in a semi-gloss black and matte white.
Artist Life Dates: 1903 - 1975
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1965
Accession Number: 1967/1.43
Medium and Support: Swedish green marble and paint on wood base
relevance: rank 6.12385
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; carvings; circles; geometric abstraction; round (shape); sculpture; stone

Composition; Auguste Herbin

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Title: Composition
Artist: Auguste Herbin
Physical Description: Flat, colorful, overlapping geometric and biomorphic abstract forms
Artist Life Dates: 1882 - 1960
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1927
Accession Number: 1955/2.10
Medium and Support: oil on canvas
relevance: rank 6.06221
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; face; geometric abstraction; oil painting; rubenism

Little Torso No. 5 (Torse); Hans Arp

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Title: Little Torso No. 5 (Torse)
Artist: Hans Arp
Physical Description: A small polished bronze sculpture of a biomorphic form rising gracefully from a small base. Where it contacts the base, the form stands on two leg-like structures. The form rises from there, narrows, then opens up into a wider, more oblong shape at the top.
Artist Life Dates: 1886-1966
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1930; cast 1957
Accession Number: 1983/1.399
Medium and Support: polished bronze
relevance: rank 5.15254
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; bronze (metal); growth; sculpture; surrealism; torsos

Mercurius in the Vessel; Richard Anuszkiewicz

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Title: Mercurius in the Vessel
Artist: Richard Anuszkiewicz
Physical Description: Concentric lines of bright red alternate with lines of blue and green to create an optical illusion of receeding squares. The juxtaposition of these colors also creates an appearance of intersecting orange lines and hues of purple.
Artist Life Dates: born 1930
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1963
Accession Number: 1988/1.137
Medium and Support: oil on canvas
relevance: rank 5.15254
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric abstraction; occultism; oil paintings; op art; spirituality

Pre-Adamic Fruit (Fruit préadamite); Hans Arp

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Title: Pre-Adamic Fruit (Fruit préadamite)
Artist: Hans Arp
Physical Description: A small, biomorphically abstract sculpture of bronze grows from a wooden base. Bulbous at the bottom, the shape stretches and narrows in the middle and then expands into a larger shape from which two rounded points rise.
Artist Life Dates: 1886-1966
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1938
Accession Number: 1948/2.26
Medium and Support: bronze with wood base
relevance: rank 5.15254
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; bronze (metal); fruit; growth; sculpture; surrealism

Rectangular Bronze Form No. 2; Robert Adams

Title: Rectangular Bronze Form No. 2
Artist: Robert Adams
Physical Description: Thin, double-side, H-shaped bronze sculpture. Each side is made up of a collection of rough rectangle shapes overlapping and butting up against one another. Two rectangle-shaped openings penetrate the piece.
Artist Life Dates: 1917-1984
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: circa 1953
Accession Number: 1954/2.40
Medium and Support: bronze with wood base
relevance: rank 5.15254
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; bronze (metal); geometric abstraction; metalworking; rectangles; sculpture

The Student (L'Etudiante); Gerome Kamrowski

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Title: The Student (L'Etudiante)
Artist: Gerome Kamrowski
Physical Description: On a narrow canvas a background of overlapping, rounded segments of blues, grays, and greens suggests rock. These layers build up to warmer colors, and on the surface of the layers are several shapes executed in white line suggestive of cave-painting. The shapes looks like microscopic organisms and are connected by the nerve-like white lines. As a whole, the visual elements are also suggestive of a seated figure, and the white shapes then appear as organs.
Artist Life Dates: 1914 - 2004
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1950
Accession Number: 1975/1.77
Medium and Support: oil on canvas
relevance: rank 5.14442
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; figures (representations); oil painting; spirituality; surrealism; surrealist

Cactus; Graham Sutherland

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Title: Cactus
Artist: Graham Sutherland
Physical Description: Three forms that are simulatenously organic and sculptural stand in a line. At their base they appear sculptural or vessel-like, but further up they become more organic and cactus-like in their form. The table and background are yellow. The forms are executed mostly with white, off-white, and gray.
Artist Life Dates: 1903 - 1980
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1950
Accession Number: 1954/2.39
Medium and Support: oil on canvas
relevance: rank 5.14442
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; cacti; growth; oil painting; still lifes; surrealism; surrealist

Standing Figure; Alberto Giacometti

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Title: Standing Figure
Artist: Alberto Giacometti
Physical Description: An elongated figure with minimal features stands on a small rectangular base with left foot slightly forward. The metal has a texture resembling molten wax.
Artist Life Dates: 1901 - 1966
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1957
Accession Number: 1958/1.137
Medium and Support: bronze
relevance: rank 5.12803
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; bronze (metal); casting (process); figures (representations); sculpture; standing

Sunset Corner; Helen Frankenthaler

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Title: Sunset Corner
Artist: Helen Frankenthaler
Physical Description: A vast surface of orange yields in the very bottom of the painting to a swath of yellow, under which there is a line of white and green, and under that a thin black line.
Artist Life Dates: 1928-2011
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1969
Accession Number: 1973/1.813
Medium and Support: acrylic on canvas
relevance: rank 5.12803
Primary Keywords: abstraction; acrylic painting (technique); color-field; lyrical abstraction; sky; sunlight; sunset

Man in Motion (Uomo in movimento); Mino Rosso

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Title: Man in Motion (Uomo in movimento)
Artist: Mino Rosso
Physical Description: A bronze sculpture of an abstracted male figure in motion. His knees are bent as he leans into his movement. His arms are tucked along his torso, and he appears to be propelling his movement with great force. The surface is a bright bronze color but with some patina.
Artist Life Dates: 1904 - 1963
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1934
Accession Number: 1959/2.100
Medium and Support: bronze with wood base
relevance: rank 5.12803
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; bronze (metal); figures (representations); futurist; men; motion; sculpture

Construction (Konstruktion); László Moholy-Nagy

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Title: Construction (Konstruktion)
Artist: László Moholy-Nagy
Physical Description: Two tall, rectangular intersecting planes, one black and one white, create the appearance of a tall, minimal structure. Vertical lines of black and white add to the structure, which at its base projects slightly into a rough square shape that seems to delineate a kind of ground or base. The space around the structure is ochre.
Artist Life Dates: Hungary, 1895-1946
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1923
Accession Number: 1957/1.30
Medium and Support: color lithograph on paper
relevance: rank 5.12803
Primary Keywords: abstraction; bauhaus; color lithographs; geometric abstraction; high-rise buildings; minimal; rectangles

Spitball; Tony Smith

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Title: Spitball
Artist: Tony Smith
Physical Description: A black granite abstract sculpute. Two "legs" rise up toward one another to meet at a point, making a basic triangle shape. At the bottom of the "legs," two horizontal "feet" protrude away from the object's center and end in four-sided points.
Artist Life Dates: 1912 - 1980
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: designed 1961; created 1970
Accession Number: 1974/2.51
Medium and Support: granite
relevance: rank 5.12713
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; geometric abstraction; minimal; sculpture; stone

Golden Section Painting #6; Dorothea Rockburne

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Title: Golden Section Painting #6
Artist: Dorothea Rockburne
Physical Description: folded kraft paper marked with blue pencil affixed to linen
Artist Life Dates: b. 1932
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1975
Accession Number: 1977/1.160
Medium and Support: kraft paper and blue pencil on linen
relevance: rank 5.12713
Primary Keywords: abstraction; collage; geometric abstraction; hard-edge; origami

Mandolin Woman (Femme-mandoline), Plate IV, from "Transmutations"; Brassaï (Gyula Halász)

Title: Mandolin Woman (Femme-mandoline), Plate IV, from "Transmutations"
Artist: Brassaï (Gyula Halász)
Physical Description: A highly abstracted photographic composition in which the viewer catches glimpses of a female nude seen in the stomach at center and the keyhole glimpse of a breast to the viewer's right; the overall composition is dark with patterned, textured overlapping fabrics
Artist Life Dates: 1899 - 1984
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1934-1935; printed 1967
Accession Number: 1971/2.150.4
Medium and Support: clichés-verre on paper
relevance: rank 5.10577
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; clichès-verre; mandolins; musical instruments; nudes; surrealism; surrealist; women

White Front; Josef Albers

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Title: White Front
Artist: Josef Albers
Physical Description: A white rectangle stretches from near the left edge to the right edge. It has two small verticle ochre rectangles close to either end. Around the white rectangle are sections of yellow and ochre.
Artist Life Dates: American, born Germany, 1888-1976
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1958
Accession Number: 1958/2.72
Medium and Support: oil on masonite
relevance: rank 5.10577
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; color-field; geometric abstraction; minimal; op art; rectangles; rubenism; squares

Stiff Box 12; Lucas Samaras

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Title: Stiff Box 12
Artist: Lucas Samaras
Physical Description: Made of thick steel, this sculpture has two very distinct halves. One on side, the thick sheet of steel gracefully curves around and back on itself, making loops and rounded edges. On the reverse, the steel is angular, jagged, and sharp, jutting into the spaces in the sculpture's interior and the space around the whole. At the very center of the piece, along the implied dividing line between the two sides, is a relatively small box.
Artist Life Dates: American, born Greece, 1936
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1971
Accession Number: 1997/1.138
Medium and Support: Cor-Ten steel
relevance: rank 5.07926
Primary Keywords: abstraction; angular; boxes (containers); curved; direct metal sculpture; geometric abstraction; steelwork; whiplash curves

Abstract Composition (Abstrakte Komposition); László Moholy-Nagy

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Title: Abstract Composition (Abstrakte Komposition)
Artist: László Moholy-Nagy
Physical Description: A spare and restrained abstract composition, built up out of layers of mostly translucent basic geometric forms. The grey tones of the background are created with large rectangle shapes. In the upper part of the piece is a light colored circle, with a brighter circle inside it. Both are crossed by an axis of bright, thin orange lines. On the left, the point of a triangle protrudes from the edge. It is covered by a faint gray trapezoidal shape. Three small black semi-circles are also visible: one along the lines inside the circles; the other two along the trapezoidal shape and just beneath the triangle.
Artist Life Dates: Hungary, 1895-1946
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: circa 1925
Accession Number: 1953/2.9
Medium and Support: watercolor, India ink, and collage on off-white wove paper
relevance: rank 5.07926
Primary Keywords: abstraction; bauhaus; circles (plane figures); collages; geometric abstraction; ink; minimal; triangles (polygons); watercolors

Untitled; Lee Bontecou

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Title: Untitled
Artist: Lee Bontecou
Physical Description: graphite drawing on cream paper, unframed
Artist Life Dates: born 1931
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1961
Accession Number: 1962/1.97
Medium and Support: graphite on cream paper
relevance: rank 5.07771
Primary Keywords: abstraction; biomorphic abstraction; drawings; openings by form

D&H Rogue; Richard Francisco

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Title: D&H Rogue
Artist: Richard Francisco
Physical Description: Ombre orange and black abstract forms painted on paper cut out and attached to wood, laid on top of another larger cutout of pink abstract form with “shadows” from the cutout above it painted in red; the paper collage is centered on a large sheet of white paper. Signed “D[orothy] & H[erb] Rogue” in bottom left corner, “R. J. Francisco ‘82” in bottom right corner.
Artist Life Dates: (1942 - )
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1982
Accession Number: 2008/2.229
Medium and Support: watercolor and ink wash on paper and painted wood
relevance: rank 5.04966
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; collage; collages; geometric abstraction; painting techniques by medium; sketches; watercolors; wood (plant material)

Black Excursion No. 13; Louise Nevelson

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Title: Black Excursion No. 13
Artist: Louise Nevelson
Physical Description: Square, rectangular, and circular pieces of wood and formica are assembled in rectilinear, cabinet-like compartments. The entire object is painted black.
Artist Life Dates: 1899 - 1988
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1964
Accession Number: 1997/1.131
Medium and Support: painted wood and black formica
relevance: rank 5.04966
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; assemblage (sculpture technique); circles; color-field; geometric abstraction; squares; wood (plant material)

Ocean Park No. 52; Richard Diebenkorn

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Title: Ocean Park No. 52
Artist: Richard Diebenkorn
Physical Description: A canvas saturated in layered shades of muted browns, oranges, ochres, and yellows is crossed by lines, some dark some light, some on the surface, some buried beneath the surface color. A bold horizontal line cuts across about a quarter of the way from the bottom. On the right are several faint verticals. At the top two horizontal lines underlap and overlap with two diagonals.
Artist Life Dates: 1922 - 1993
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1972
Accession Number: 1974/2.22
Medium and Support: oil on canvas
relevance: rank 5.01778
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; color-field; lyrical abstraction; natural landscapes; oil painting; santa monica (inhabited place); sunlight

Young Girl Dreaming (Jeune fille rêvant), Plate IX, from "Transmutations"; Brassaï (Gyula Halász)

Title: Young Girl Dreaming (Jeune fille rêvant), Plate IX, from "Transmutations"
Artist: Brassaï (Gyula Halász)
Physical Description: A female figure reclines on a divan on her side with her back toward the viewer; Beneath the divan the dark background is lined with a diamond patterning. Behind the figure are textures suggesting pillows or other textiles.
Artist Life Dates: 1899 - 1984
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1934-1935; printed 1967
Accession Number: 1971/2.150.9
Medium and Support: clichés-verre on paper
relevance: rank 4.98424
Primary Keywords: abstraction; beds (furniture); biomorphic abstraction; clichès-verre; dreams; girls; guitars; musical instruments; nudes; reclining; surrealism; surrealist

Hydra Study; Brice Marden

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Title: Hydra Study
Artist: Brice Marden
Physical Description: At the outer edge a long black rectangle composed of graphite and wax extends upward. Within this border is a white rectangular stripe, following the same arc as the outer black rectangle, which is exposed Arches heavy white paper. An inner black stripe sits at the composition's center composed of the same wax and graphite.
Artist Life Dates: born, Bronxville, New York, 1938
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1975
Accession Number: 1976/1.231
Medium and Support: graphite and wax on Arches heavy white paper
relevance: rank 4.80110
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; geometric abstraction; geometric patterns; minimal; monsters; op art; rectangles

Untitled; Frank Stella

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Title: Untitled
Artist: Frank Stella
Physical Description: Two sets of concentric arcs of bright colors radiate toward one another from the lower left corner and the upper right corner.
Artist Life Dates: born 1936
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1968
Accession Number: 1993/2.6
Medium and Support: acrylic on canvas
relevance: rank 4.80110
Primary Keywords: abstraction; color-field; curved; geometric abstraction; geometric patterns; minimal; op art

Cubes and Cylinders; Judy Chicago

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Title: Cubes and Cylinders
Artist: Judy Chicago
Physical Description: Twelve identical cubes and twelve identical cylinders of gold-plated steel. They are rearrangeable.
Artist Life Dates: born 1939
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1967
Accession Number: 1997/1.121A-X
Medium and Support: milled steel, gold-plating
relevance: rank 4.67466
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; cubes (geometric figures); geometric abstraction; play (recreation); sculpture; sets (groups); solids (geometric); steelwork

Untitled Cube; Alvin D. Loving

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Title: Untitled Cube
Artist: Alvin D. Loving
Physical Description: A framework three-dimensional cube sits at an angle so that one of its corners appears to protrude from the center of the piece. The cube is gray, with dark gray shading on the shadowed edges, and dark and light yellow shading on the lit edges. The canvas is cut to the dimensions of the cube.
Artist Life Dates: 1935-2005
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1969
Accession Number: 1969/2.25
Medium and Support: acrylic on canvas
relevance: rank 4.67466
Primary Keywords: abstraction; acrylic paintings; cubes (geometric figures); geometric abstraction; geometric shapes; inverted perspective; minimal; op art

Yellow, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"; Sol LeWitt

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Title: Yellow, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"
Artist: Sol LeWitt
Physical Description: A suite of 15 lithographs and a composite gage in four colors hand drawn on aluminum plates and printed from those plates by hand. Printed in an edition of 50 on Italia paper by Landfall Press, Inc. Size: 23 x 23”. Contained in a paper box designed by Sol LeWitt with the cooperation of Service Bindery of Chicago, Ill.
Artist Life Dates: 1928-2007
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1971
Accession Number: 1978/2.61.1
Medium and Support: lithograph on Italia paper
relevance: rank 4.43839
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric abstraction

Yellow - Black - Blue, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"; Sol LeWitt

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Title: Yellow - Black - Blue, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"
Artist: Sol LeWitt
Physical Description: A suite of 15 lithographs and a composite gage in four colors hand drawn on aluminum plates and printed from those plates by hand. Printed in an edition of 50 on Italia paper by Landfall Press, Inc. Size: 23 x 23”. Contained in a paper box designed by Sol LeWitt with the cooperation of Service Bindery of Chicago, Ill.
Artist Life Dates: 1928-2007
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1971
Accession Number: 1978/2.61.12
Medium and Support: lithograph on Italia paper
relevance: rank 4.43839
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric abstraction

Yellow - Red - Blue, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"; Sol LeWitt

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Title: Yellow - Red - Blue, from "Sixteen Lithographs in Color"
Artist: Sol LeWitt
Physical Description: A suite of 15 lithographs and a composite gage in four colors hand drawn on aluminum plates and printed from those plates by hand. Printed in an edition of 50 on Italia paper by Landfall Press, Inc. Size: 23 x 23”. Contained in a paper box designed by Sol LeWitt with the cooperation of Service Bindery of Chicago, Ill.
Artist Life Dates: 1928-2007
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1971
Accession Number: 1978/2.61.11
Medium and Support: lithograph on Italia paper
relevance: rank 4.43839
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric abstraction

WEG VII (White Embossing on Gray); Josef Albers

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Title: WEG VII (White Embossing on Gray)
Artist: Josef Albers
Artist Life Dates: American, born Germany, 1888-1976
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1971
Accession Number: 1983/1.313
Medium and Support: color line-cut on paper
relevance: rank 4.34079
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; geometric abstraction; geometric shapes

Daedalus; Charles Ginnever

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Title: Daedalus
Artist: Charles Ginnever
Physical Description: Cor-Ten steel abstract sculpture
Artist Life Dates: born 1931
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1975
Accession Number: 1977/2.9
Medium and Support: Cor-Ten steel
relevance: rank 4.34079
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric abstraction; installations (sculpture); sculpture

Articulation: Formulation, from the portfolio "Formulation: Articulation"; Josef Albers

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Title: Articulation: Formulation, from the portfolio "Formulation: Articulation"
Artist: Josef Albers
Artist Life Dates: American, born Germany, 1888-1976
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1972
Accession Number: 1983/1.336.8
Medium and Support: screenprint on paper
relevance: rank 4.25636
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric; geometric abstraction; geometric shapes; screen prints

Untitled; Don Hazlitt

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Title: Untitled
Artist: Don Hazlitt
Physical Description: Sketch of tightly grouped volumetric forms rendered in thick dark lines with some shading; signed “DH” in upper left corner, “7/84” in upper right corner.
Artist Life Dates: (1948 - )
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1984
Accession Number: 2008/2.231
Medium and Support: graphite on paper
relevance: rank 4.06447
Primary Keywords: abstraction; cubes (geometric figures); drawing (image-making); freehand drawings; geometric; geometric abstraction; geometric figures; geometric motifs; perspective drawings

Articulation: Formulation, from the portfolio "Formulation: Articulation"; Josef Albers

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Title: Articulation: Formulation, from the portfolio "Formulation: Articulation"
Artist: Josef Albers
Artist Life Dates: American, born Germany, 1888-1976
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1972
Accession Number: 1983/1.336.10
Medium and Support: screenprint on paper
relevance: rank 4.03691
Primary Keywords: abstract; abstraction; geometric; geometric abstraction; geometric shapes

Untitled, from 'Quantum Suite'; Garo Zareh Antreasian

Title: Untitled, from 'Quantum Suite'
Artist: Garo Zareh Antreasian
Artist Life Dates: born 1922
Century: 20th century
Object Creation Date: 1966
Accession Number: 1967/2.46
Medium and Support: lithograph on paper
relevance: rank 3.70021
Primary Keywords: abstraction; geometric; geometric abstraction; geometric shapes