-
Artworks
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup:Subliminal Horizons, Installation View, Alexander Gray Associates, Germantown (2021)
Melvin Edwards
Untitled, 1974Mixed media on paper18 1/8 x 24 in (46.35 x 60.96 cm)
21 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 1 3/4 in framed (54.6 x 69.8 x 4.4 cm framed)ME667$50,000; Framing: $400Further images
Melvin Edwards’s works on paper feature traces of barbed wire, chain, and metal, and have a delicacy that belies the function of the objects they describe. Untitled (1974) juxtaposes a...Melvin Edwards’s works on paper feature traces of barbed wire, chain, and metal, and have a delicacy that belies the function of the objects they describe. Untitled (1974) juxtaposes a garland of chain and the silhouette of a fence against a brightly colored ground, creating a destabilizing disjunction between the ephemeral quality of the pictured materials and their real-world uses. Chains, for example, while symbolizing human connections, are also tools of bondage and oppression; similarly, fences are frequently used to imprison and separate populations. By transforming these objects into fanciful decorative elements, Edwards ultimately draws attention to his materials' most foreboding aspects.3of 3