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Louise Nevelson, Night Leaf, 1969, plexiglas, 12 3⁄4 x 12 3⁄4 x 2 1⁄4 in. (32.3 x 32.3 x 5.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1976.108.90
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Night Leaf
- Artist
- Date
- 1969
- Location
- Dimensions
- 12 3⁄4 x 12 3⁄4 x 2 1⁄4 in. (32.3 x 32.3 x 5.6 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Woodward Foundation
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- plexiglas
- Classifications
- Highlights
- Keywords
- Abstract
- Object Number
- 1976.108.90
Artwork Description
In the late 1960s, Louise Nevelson experimented with new techniques and materials, developing work in Plexiglas and Cor-Ten steel. Night Leaf displays an arrangement of opaque black boxes that contain variations of a simple leaf shape. Nevelson emphasized the contrast between nature and technology by using industrial techniques to illustrate an organic form. The rigid plastic transforms the leaf into a geometric and uniform shape, highlighted by the use of black.
Luce Object Quote
“Sometimes it’s the material that takes over; sometimes it’s me that takes over. I permit them to play, like a seesaw. I use action and counteraction, like in music, all the time . . .” Louise Nevelson, “American Artists on Art,” 1982