UTA BARTH (B. 1958)
Field #23, 1998

acrylic lacquer on canvas

90 x 132 in.
228.6 x 335.3 cm.

This work is from the edition of three.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg, New York, 10 December 2003, lot 682
Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner


Uta Barth's work focuses attention on the often-neglected components of an image - the peripheral and the background. Barth initially gained critical acclaim over 20 years ago, for the Ground and Field bodies of work, which include mysterious and beautiful out-of-focus imagery in a variety of formats. The present lot is a rare and magnificent large-scale canvas from the celebrated Field series. By removing narrative and figure, Barth allows the viewer to perceive ephemeral elements of space, mood and time, rather than focusing on pre-determined content. The scale, imagery, and concept of Field #23 exemplifies Barth's work at its best; at once contemplative, enveloping, and beguiling.

Another example from the edition of the present work is in the permanent collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Barth's work is in many major public institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Tate Modern, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles; and The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Barth's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. She will have an upcoming solo exhibition at The Getty Center, Los Angeles, Uta Barth: Peripheral Vision, beginning in November 2022.