Untitled #18

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Untitled #18

Artist Agnes Martin (American, 1912-2004)

Date1995

DimensionsH: 60 in.(152.4 cm); W: 60 in. (152.4 cm)

MediumAcrylic and graphite on canvas.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of David and Georgia Welles

Object number

2013.164

Not on View

DescriptionSoftly delineated graphite grids with four horizontally laid color blocks. Colors alternate between two subtle hues of blue and pink with a very thin strip of white dividing the piece in half. The acrylic is applied very delicately and the blank white canvas is visible through the paint.

Label TextArt work that is completely abstract—free from any expression of the environment—is like music and can be responded to in the same way. Agnes Martin sought to create works whittled down to their most reductive elements. Her works often feature an emphasis on line, grids, and subtle color fields. She said, “When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees and then this grid came into my mind, and I thought it represented innocence, and I still do; and so I painted it, and then I was satisfied. I thought, this is my vision.” Martin considered herself an Abstract Expressionist, and as such attempted to convey attitudes and emotions through her choice of colors and techniques. She often engaged with nature in her art, using abstraction to express her emotional response to the natural world.Published ReferencesSimon, Joan, "Perfection is in the Mind: An Interview with Agnes Martin," in Art in America, Vol. 84, No. 5, May 1996, repr. (col.) p. 83.Exhibition History20

Houston, The Menil Collection, Agnes Martin: the 90s and Beyond, February 1-May 26, 2002.

Toledo Museum of Art, Everything is Rhythm: Mid-Century Art & Music, April 6, 2019-February 23, 2020.

Bloomfield Hills, MI, Cranbrook Art Museum, , October 25, 2024-March 2, 2025.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Glimcher, Arne, Agnes Martin: Paintings, Writings and Remembrances, Phaidon Press, 2012.

See also Cooke, Lynne, Karen Kelly and Barbara Schroder (editors), Agnes Martin, New York: Dia Art Foundation, 2011.