Louise Nevelson, The Face in the Moon, 1953-1955

Narrator: This group of works was made at Atelier 17, a European avant-garde printmaking studio that relocated from Paris to New York in 1940. There, Nevelson began using increasingly experimental techniques.

Clémence White: She's making these in a distinctly spontaneous and gestural manner. A lot of the works she was printing herself. She was noted for the lack of precision in her approach and is working in a kind of freer manner in how she's making these works.

Narrator: Clémence White.

Clémence White: In this work, The Face in the Moon, after which the exhibition is named, a face appears in the top right corner, peering through this very densely textured fabric. Nevelson was largely uninterested in the precision demanded of printmaking.

Narrator: The printmaking process of etching can be exacting. Marks made cannot be easily undone. Nevelson’s refusal to treat this process preciously, as well as her inclusion of found materials, makes these prints stand out. Using an intentionally fluid process allowed her to freely explore new ideas—in a voice all her own.