Untitled

Bright white splashes cover a turquoise backdrop, which appears in places in the cracks of the creamy surface. Sometimes, the brownish, earthy tones of the linen canvas appear as well. Could Robert Ryman's Untitled be a piece of polar ice? Or a turbulent sky? Whatever one sees in it, Untitled is an invitation to delight: “You can paint in different ways but I think that a painting is always about light, joy and wonder,” he said.

In the early 1960s, American artist Robert Ryman seeks to reduce painting to its essential aspects. By using rough mediums, always of a square format, on which he applies generous layers, he produces brightly luminous paintings as exemplified by Untitled.

Held in the Pinault Collection, this painting was first shown in 2006 at the Where Are We Going? exhibition at Palazzo Grassi, in Venice.