Floor 4: Brice Marden: East entrance from Agnes Martin
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Objects in This Gallery
4 objects in the order you'll encounter them from this entrance. Select an object to view details.
Wall Text
1968
Beeswax and oil on canvas
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 1995
To create the dense, matte surface of early monochrome works such as this, Marden mixed oil paint with beeswax and turpentine. He applied the medium in layers, reworking it with a spatula or palette knife. Although evidence of his hand is nowhere near as visible as it would become in the calligraphic style he developed during the 1980s (on view nearby), traces of the painting’s making remain. Notice how Marden left bare a one-inch strip of canvas along the bottom edge to preserve a record of drips and splatters.
Wall Text
1991–93
Oil on linen
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 1994
As its title indicates, The Sisters can be understood as an abstract portrait of the artist’s two daughters. The apricot and burgundy ribbons may at first suggest figures, but in the next moment they dissolve into the larger field of blue, gray, and yellow lines laid over the pale yellow background. The lines graze the edges of the canvas but always remain within the frame of the picture. This playful dance of expansion and containment, spontaneity and restraint, reflects Marden’s dynamic painting process while capturing the character of his young subjects.
Wall Text
1996–97
Oil on linen
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Acquired by the Fisher family, 1997
In this painting, the flowing ribbons of color in The Sisters (nearby) have been transformed into more controlled, even bands that slowly meander around the surface. Marden drew inspiration from ancient Chinese epitaph tablets—carved stone memorials placed inside tombs—borrowing their square proportions and loosely basing the composition on written characters inscribed on their surfaces. Asian art and culture were important influences on Marden starting in the mid-1980s.