Week #23, Black & White II

Dusti Bongé, Untitled (Black Oval with Lines), c. 1960, Ink on paper, laid on board, 23 ¾” x 17 ¾”.

Our next piece in the series of black & white works by Dusti Bongé comes from a decade later than last week’s small ink drawing. That drawing showed how much graphic complexity Dusti could create with just a few lean, simple lines. Here Dusti explores a very different approach to the monochrome palette.

This piece is much darker, bolder, and executed with the heavy, aggressive, gestural energy of an abstract expressionist master. During this time, Dusti produced numerous larger works on paper in addition to her abstract canvases. These were all finished works in their own rights and not just studies or sketches.

This ink wash painting has a clear composition. Using a minimalist approach Dusti lays down a large open oval form that fills the sheet, with several wide marks overlaying it, but staying within its perimeter. These heavy marks run roughly vertical, although none of them quite move along a straight up-and-down axis, instead leaning a few degrees off. Intersecting these are two more barely visible horizontal brush strokes near the bottom and the top.

Within this clear layout, some subtleties appear such as the fact that the oval, which really is the primary compositional component, is nonetheless overshadowed by the broad, bold brush strokes crossing it. This is perhaps more so because the oval is also executed in a watery black wash, whereas the heavy gestural lines are an impenetrable black. Another subtle effect is that the (almost) verticals in fact lean slightly toward the left and the right creating a narrow, but distinct V-shaped sliver of light at the core of the oval.  

On a different note: this work happens to come with some great historical background: it was exhibited at the Betty Parsons Gallery in NY when Dusti had her third solo show there in the fall of 1960, titled Dusti Bongé: Paintings. We know this because the gallery label is still affixed to the back of this work.

If you’re in the market, please know that this work is currently available at Hollis Taggart in NY.

https://www.hollistaggart.com/