Richard Artschwager

Childs Gallery, Boston

Acquired from the above by the present owner

In the early 1960s, Artschwager started to work with a grisaille palette of white, blacks and grays and a Celotex board. These elements served to de-materialize his image to the point of allowing multiple and shifting readings when applied to the wavy and patterned surface of celotex, which had its own intrinsic visual activity. In these Celotex paintings, Artschwager drew the image on the board, highlighting it in white, followed by a thin coat of poured black acrylic, which would adhere to or fill in the textured surface. He would then modulate the tones by hand to heighten or suppress the image details, obviating any precise definition.

In the present work, through his peculiar technique, Artschwager enhances his chosen subject, turning it into a perspective experience. By including a cross, a religious symbol that appears in a number of his works, the artist is adding a playful but mysterious feature to his piece. Crossword Puzzle can be seen as a work with a number of layers of meaning which viewers are meant to discover through their own imagination. 

Artschwager's work also integrates trends from Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art, though his career avoids exact categorization into any one of these specific movements. His interest in the confluence of the visual and tactile senses led him to explore the interactions between painting and sculpture throughout his artistic career. Through his work and pieces like Crossword Puzzle, Artschwager has therefore significantly contributed to the development of 20th century American art.