Abstract
JAMES GUY (1909–1983)]
Untitled, about 1949
Oil on wood and steel construction on particle board, 36 x 36 in.
Signed (at lower center): Guy
EX COLL: private collection, Massachusetts
Seeking a more advanced and idiosyncratic form of abstraction and feeling that “there is a valid place in art for something between painting and sculpture,” Guy began producing his so-called “dimensionals” in about 1946: fluid and highly expressive constructions in which he used welded wire or steel rods (possibly odds and ends of scrap metal obtained from the aircraft factory) to replace the painted line. Taking his cue from Cubism (especially the work of Fernand Léger) and Neoplasticism, he created most of these pieces using a vibrant palette which he described in his autobiography as being comprised of “two blues, two reds, two yellows, one or two greens and black and white.”
Guy’s desire to convey “three dimensions through color” is apparent in Untitled, which features an arrangement of flat, trapezoidal elements of various hues set against a white ground. The rhythmic motion and sense of unity that permeates the work is created by the delightfully meandering steel rod that hovers over the surface of the support
