{"data":{"id":"12142","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":12142,"topgoose_id":986,"tms_id":12142,"display_name":"R. H. Quaytman","sort_name":"Quaytman R. H.","display_date":"1961–","begin_date":"1961","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eSince 2001 R. H. Quaytman has organized her paintings into “chapters” that are influenced by the place in which they are first displayed. Despite their varying subjects, certain principles remain constant across each series. Quaytman begins with wood panels cut to seven sizes based on the golden ratio (derived by multiplying the smaller dimension by 1.618). Then the artist bevels the edges of the panels to emphasize the picture plane, primes them with gesso, and silkscreens images— photographs, optical patterns, or both— onto their surfaces.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eQuaytman conceived of \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/37006\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDistracting Distance, Chapter 16 (K8 Hardy)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003especifically for the \u003ca href=\"/exhibitions/2010-biennial\"\u003e2010 Whitney Biennial\u003c/a\u003e, deriving the compositional starting point from the Museum’s former building and permanent collection. The chapter’s central motif, the trapezoidal windows designed for the building by architect Marcel Breuer, recurs in several of the twenty-nine total panels. In addition, Quaytman restaged the Whitney’s \u003ca href=\"/artists/621\"\u003eEdward Hopper\u003c/a\u003e painting \u003ca href=\"http://collection/works/1337\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eWoman in the Sun\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e(1961), a canvas that features a nude\nfigure standing in front of a bedroom\nwindow. Quaytman photographed fellow\nartist K8 Hardy in front of Breuer’s\nangular design, positioned in the profile pose\nassumed by the model in Hopper’s work.\nThe resulting silkscreened images appear on\nseveral of the panels. “My idea,” Quaytman\nhas explained, “was to set up a series\nof reflections between the viewer, the space\nand history of the Whitney, and American\npainting.” Each exhibition offers an\nopportunity for Quaytman to contribute a\nnew chapter to an ongoing archive,\na “book” that the artist has resolved to\n“continue without end.”\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500294143","wikidata_id":"Q13560749","created_at":"2017-08-30T16:02:03.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-10T07:03:49.555-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/12142/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/12142/exhibitions"}}}}