The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Untitled

Untitled

1996
(German, b. 1950)
Germany
beeswax, wooden understructure
142.9 x 114 x 54 cm (56 1/4 x 44 7/8 x 21 1/4 in.)
Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of the artist's grandson, Sirius Nathanael Laib 2021.21
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In addition to beeswax, Laib frequently uses milk, marble, pollen, and rice in his artworks.

Description

A freestanding beeswax staircase, Untitled is characteristic of the German artist Wolfgang Laib’s interest in creating pared down sculptural forms made from organic matter. The work’s natural surface is untreated, demonstrating the artist’s respect for the inherent properties of his chosen material. Close to human scale, Untitled invites the viewer to relate to the work through his or her body. Despite its formal simplicity, Untitled suggests an array of rich narrative associations.
  • 1996
    Collection of the artist
    ?
    Private Collection, Dallas, TX
    ?
    Private Collection
    2021-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ottmann, Klaus, Wolfgang Laib, Margit Rowell, Harald Szeemann, Margit Rowell, American Federation of Arts, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, et al. Wolfgang Laib : A Retrospective. New York: American Federation of Arts, 2000. Reproduced: pp. 93, 188. [The work is incorrectly dated 1999.] ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
    Ottmann, Klaus, Wolfgang Laib, Margit Rowell, Harald Szeemann, Margit Rowell, American Federation of Arts, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, et al. 2000. Wolfgang Laib : A Retrospective. New York: American Federation of Arts. Reproduced: pp. 93,188. ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org
  • “Wolfgang Laib: A Retrospective,” Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., 26 October 2000 – 22 January 2001; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, 13 February – 6 May 2001; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 29 May – 2 September 2001; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ, 7 October – 6 January 2002; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla and San Diego, CA, 25 January – 21 April 2002; Haus der Kunst, Munich, 8 October 2002 – 5 January 2003 (catalogue)
    “Wolfgang Laib: Nowhere – Everywhere,” Sperone Westwater, New York, 2 May – 13 June 1998
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled|url=false|author=Wolfgang Laib|year=1996|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.21