Stanley Whitney

Untitled, 1999

Oil on linen
184,2 × 216 cm
72,5 × 85 in

“Color is my form, and I’m interested in how color moves and interacts.”
– Stanley Whitney

Untitled, 1999 painting exemplifies Stanley Whitney’s renowned color grid series, where the artist delves into the expressive potential of color. The vibrant blocks captivate the viewer, pulsating with an energy and rhythm that seem to dance off the canvas—simultaneously advancing and retreating, expanding and contracting before the observer’s eyes.

Whitney’s solid grids emulate stable structures that remain rhythmic, spontaneous, and erratic in nature. Rather than serving as a proscriptive framework, the grid formation acts as a liberating compositional tool, enabling improvisation through color and texture.

Untitled, 1999 emerges from a period of profound artistic evolution for Whitney. During the 1990s, while working in his studio in Rome, his compositions evolved from free-flowing, amorphous forms to the more structured, stacked arrangements that now define his mature work. The art and architecture of Rome greatly influenced his nuanced understanding of the interplay between color and geometry. Italy continues to be a lasting and significant source of inspiration for the artist.