Two works: (i) One Concept (Body), 2007; (ii) One Concept (Leather)
Two works by Adam McEwen present stark, typographically-driven chromogenic prints in which clinical, matter-of-fact language is isolated against a plain background, evoking the aesthetic of newspaper obituaries or classified advertisements. The words "Body" and "Leather" are paired with the phrase "One Concept," inviting contemplation on the reduction of complex human and material associations to a single, blunt designation. Housed in the artist's own frames, the diptych underscores McEwen's broader preoccupation with language, mortality, and the deadpan presentation of meaning.
- Medium
- two chromogenic prints, in artist's frames
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Contemporary Art Day Sale
October 16, 2014
Artists in conversation
Ed Ruscha
American · b. 1937
Ruscha similarly isolates single words or short phrases against stark, plain backgrounds, transforming language into a visual and conceptual object. His typographic works share the same austere minimalism and deadpan quality found in McEwen's chromogenic prints.
Joseph Kosuth
American · b. 1945
Kosuth's conceptual art practice centers on presenting words and definitions in clinical, stripped down formats that interrogate how language constructs meaning, directly paralleling McEwen's reduction of complex concepts like body and material to blunt single designations.
Christopher Wool
American · b. 1955
Wool's black and white text based works present fragmented words and phrases in a stark, matter of fact visual language that mirrors McEwen's typographically driven aesthetic and his interest in how isolated words carry unsettling conceptual weight.
Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion