B elonging to a highly acclaimed series of sixteen works executed between 1991-1992, Versions XII is an example of Robert Ryman’s lifelong dedication to a limited array of media that have graced us with works of indescribable elegance. In the present work, Ryman achieves an abstract composition of delicate yet textural brushstrokes that circulate the canvas, creating a flurry of dynamism. Versions XII is one of two works within this series that was executed with a layer of interference primer. This medium gives the painting an iridescent blue sheen that bounces off the surface as light hits the canvas. Furthermore, all but one of the works in this series includes a sheet of wax paper at the upper edge that serves to create an illusion of weightless extension of the painting, an innovative and ingenious addition to the present work that adds to its texture and complexity.

The Crex Collection

Ryman’s mastery of his own philosophy has earned this series of paintings great acclaim, as two larger versions of this work are housed in the esteemed collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. In Versions XII, Ryman employs all of the tools in his artistic arsenal – composition, color, complexity, surface, light, texture, and line – making it a superb example of his empirical exploration of the surface and structure of painting. Initially exhibited in 1992 at the Hallen für Neue Kunst in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and later at Pace Gallery, New York in 1993, Versions XII formed part of a major traveling retrospective from 1993-1994 at The Tate, London, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, further cementing this work’s esteemed legacy as a highly regarded example of Ryman’s sixty-year trajectory.

The more one succumbs to Ryman’s textured whirlwind of impastoed oil in Versions XII, the more one succumbs to the dynamic tempest of disciplined strokes that radiate with incomparable brilliance against the neutral ground. Within the scope of an oeuvre characterized by a number of consistent themes and principles, Ryman pursued two specific themes with unerring continuity and dogged determination: his use of white and the deliberately non-compositional device of the square. Throughout his entire career, Ryman was a committed champion of Minimalism, which he believed was the most important and impactful way of utilizing the paintbrush. Ryman famously said: “There is never any question of what to paint, only how to paint." In every moment of Versions XII, the viewer is taken aback by the painting’s ineffable splendor, as Ryman’s magic and artistic genius allures us into the infinite depths of his composition.

Artist

Robert Ryman