Untitled

Artist Alexander Ross (American, born 1960)

Date2004

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 68 × 120 1/2 inches (172.72 × 306.07 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation–Commerce Bank, Trustee

Object number2004.39

On View

Not on view

Collections

Contemporary Art

Terms

DescriptionThis painting depicts a large, green form made up of cell-like components. The form is distributed over the surface of the canvas which is a sky-blue field of color.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Alexander Ross, Feature, Inc., New York, NY, March 5-April 23, 2005, hors. cat.

Remote Viewing: Invented Worlds in Recent Painting and Drawing, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY, June 2-October 9, 2005, unnumbered.

Gallery Label

Alexander Ross' Untitled depicts an organic, corpuscular form hovering before a seamless blue sky. The form is treated with technical virtuosity and photorealistic attention to detail. Yet, exactly what this entity is-animal, mineral, vegetable-remains elusive. Fusing what is bizarre yet familiar, lifelike yet artificial, realistic yet abstract, Ross' agglomerations of matter are like cellular specimens of an alien creature, whose irregular shapes suggest growth gone awry.

Ross draws inspiration from science, recent technological developments and emerging bio-sciences. Despite his interest in technological advancements, his painting technique is rooted in tradition. Ross generates his imagery by making detailed models of his subject. He photographs these forms, and then paints from the photographs with meticulous attention to detail.

Provenance

With Feature Inc., New York;

Purchased from Feature Inc. by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2004.

Published References

Alice Thorson, “Art Captures Darker Side” The Kansas City Star (December 22, 2005).
Elisabeth Sussman, Remote Viewing: Invented Worlds in Recent Painting and Drawing, exh. cat. (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 2005), 70, (repro.).

Jan Schall and Robert Storr, Sparks! The William T. Kemper Collecting Initiative at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 110, 111, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008): no. 129, 240, (repro.).

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