Untitled

You want to see the entire painting hidden under a large sheet of rubbish bags. But the puzzle of the bags, patched and creased, unveils as much as it hides: hardly perceptible through the tears of the plastic, the painting, made up of dynamic brush strokes, seems to wholly fulfil its function of artistic object this way.

The emphasis on poor materials in the composition of Untitled recalls the recurrent sources of inspiration for David Hammons, notably the street and the roughness of its lifestyle. Part of a series of paintings covered with found objects, this work cleverly combines “High-art” and rough matter in an ironic reference to the mechanisms of art perception.

Inviting us to withdraw from the world of art, whose at times excluding aspect David Hammons has been able to observe, Untitled belongs to the Pinault Collection. This work was first shown at the 2013 “Prima Materia” (“Raw Material”) exhibition at the Punta della Dogana.