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Artist Mariah Robertson American, born 1975

Date2015

MediumUnique chemical treatment on RA-4 paper

Dimensionsheight, width, and depth: 33 x 30 in. (83.8 x 76.2 cm)
frame: 38 x 30 in. (96.5 x 76.2 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Friends of Photography

Object number2016.11

On View

Not on view

Label TextRobertson’s works take an unorthodox view of the photographic process. Her psychedelic prints are made via experimentations with pouring, dripping, or coating paper in various chemicals and in varying intensities, dilutions, and temperatures. All her pieces are about letting accidents reign supreme. By treating her photographs in an idiosyncratic manner, Robertson rebels against a century-long tradition. Her pieces confront the viewer with their bright colors and jagged edges, allowing the completed images to speak for themselves. She effortlessly combines Pop-inspired colors, the blending and bleeding of tones popularized in Color Field painting, and the spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism. Like the prized mid-century works they recall, Robertson’s works can never be duplicated--each is unique and handmade by the artist herself.

[J. Dasal, 2017]ProvenanceCreated Brooklyn, 2015; collection of the artist; [M+B, Los Angeles]; sold to NCMA, 2016.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "A Surrealist Impulse," August 19, 2023-January 28, 2024. Object Rights Statement

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