Dan Flavin
untitled (to Barnett Newman) four, 1971 for Dwan Gallery
1971
Not on view
Date
1971
Classification
Drawings
Medium
Colored pencil, pen and ink, and graphite pencil on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 17 5/16 × 22 1/4in. (44 × 56.5 cm)
Accession number
90.18
Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from The Norman and Rosita Winston Foundation, Inc.
Rights and reproductions
© Estate of Dan Flavin/Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York
In 1971, Dan Flavin had a gallery exhibition that included four sculptures called Untitled (for Barnett Newman)—this is a drawing that documents one of the four fabricated sculptures. The group of works was a tribute to artist Barnett Newman, whose work Flavin admired. Though Flavin is widely known for his fluorescent light installations, drawing remained critically important throughout his practice. He produced quick sketches that served as studies, as well as final finished diagrams on graph paper to record his exhibitions. Unlike his sketches, for which he used a graphite pencil or ballpoint pen, Flavin’s diagrams reveal restraint and factual information about size, placement, and color.