130419 Chicago 036
From the text in the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago accompanying this work:
Lee Bontecou
(American, b. 1931)
Untitled, 1962
Welded steel, epoxy, canvas, fabric, sal blade, and wire.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of D and J de Menil
Like Alberto Burri (Italian, 1915-950 Lee Bontecou employed the heavy-duty, utilitarian fabrics of wartime, such as burlap, and canvas. Using a welding iron, she pioneered a hybrid of painting and sculpture whose armored forms recall military equipment. The rich black soot, achieved through the use of a blowtorch, suggests that the objects have seen real use.
