Untitled (Colored Butterfly White Background Six
2004
This work features radiating geometric forms rendered in vibrant colored pencil on a white wooden plank surface. Multiple fan or butterfly like shapes emerge from central points, their segments filled with bold stripes of blue, red, yellow, green, and pink. The composition is anchored by organic gestural marks and scattered graphite notations that ground the otherwise symmetrical design. The interplay between the precise linear patterns and the raw, weathered quality of the wooden support creates a dynamic tension between order and spontaneity.
- Medium
- pencil and graphite on paper
- Overall
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Sotheby's
Notes
Contemporary Day Auction, Sotheby's, sale on 2026-05-15.
🔨 Auction Lot
Contemporary Day Auction
May 15, 2026
For Sale
More by Mark Grotjahn
Untitled (Tuscan Red and Pink Rose Butterfly 45.90)
2015
"The ‘Face Paintings’ allow me to express myself in a way that the ‘Butterflies’ don’t. I have an idea as to what sort of face is going to happen when I do a ‘Face Painting,’ but I don’t exactly know what color it will take, or how many eyes it’s going to have, whereas the ‘Butterflies’ are fairly planned out. They’re still intuitive, but I generally know where they are going. It’s a different kind of freedom, a different kind of expressionism. It’s personal without being overtly personal."
Untitled (Black and Brown Butterfly 647a & 647b)
2006
Spotted works by Mark Grotjahn
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