
Untitled
This intimate mixed media work on paper presents a circular composition that hovers against a pale ground, its edges defined by loose, gestural pencil strokes that simultaneously contain and release the layered world within. Warm earth tones of sienna and raw umber occupy the upper register of the circle, rendered through torn and collaged paper fragments that introduce subtle shifts in texture and surface depth. A band of slate blue and grey moves horizontally across the middle ground, evoking the quality of distant ridgelines or the movement of weather across an open terrain. The lower portion opens into a luminous sandy field of undyed or lightly stained paper, its organic fibers visible through the surface and lending the work a quiet materiality. Touches of red crayon and coral wash animate the right side, while cool blue strokes extend beyond the circle's boundary, suggesting that the landscape refuses full containment. Emmi Whitehorse, a Navajo artist working primarily in New Mexico, is widely recognized for her sustained exploration of landscape as both physical and cosmological territory. Her practice draws on traditional Diné visual knowledge alongside Western abstraction, creating works in which land is understood as a living, layered system rather than a static backdrop. In this untitled piece, the circular format carries particular resonance, recalling both the ceremonial significance of circular forms in Indigenous visual traditions and the telescopic or meditative act of focusing the eye upon a specific patch of earth. The collaged elements suggest geological strata or accumulated time, while the drawn marks carry an immediacy that keeps the work firmly rooted in direct observation and bodily gesture. Works on paper by Whitehorse occupy a special place within her broader practice, often serving as sites of concentrated experimentation where ideas about space, mark, and material are worked through with particular freedom. The modest scale of this piece, at 38 by 28 centimeters, rewards close looking and rewards intimacy, asking the viewer to slow down and inhabit the pictorial space rather than survey it from a distance. For collectors, it represents an opportunity to acquire a work that speaks to both the formal innovations and the deeper philosophical commitments that have made Whitehorse one of the most significant voices in contemporary American art.
- Medium
- Mixed media and collage on paper
🔨 Auction Lot
Martini Studio d'Arte: Modern And Contemporary Art
June 10, 2026
Estimate: €3,000 to €4,000
Lot 166
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