The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 30, 2026

A vertically oriented print on cream paper depicts a symmetrical, hourglass-like form composed of overlapping gray layers. Textured with fine screentone dots, the bulbous bottom lobe is wider than the top. Two dark gray circles sit centered within each lobe. At the uppermost point, a small triangle meets a thin vertical line. The composition's geometric abstraction is defined by clean, organic curves set against a plain, light background.

Untitled (ZP.12B, Two-Lobed, Looped-Wire Sculptural Form)

c. 1955–60

Ruth Asawa

(American, 1926–2013)
America
Screentone collage on paper
Frame: 47.9 x 37.9 x 3.5 cm (18 7/8 x 14 15/16 x 1 3/8 in.); Sheet: 35.1 x 25.2 cm (13 13/16 x 9 15/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2023.124
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Asawa borrowed technical paper—the material used as a support for this print—from her husband’s architectural practice.

Description

Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa is best known for her woven wire sculpture, but drawings and prints played an important role throughout her career. She created this print using stencil duplication, a technique that forces ink through a stencil onto paper when passed through a hand press. Asawa first learned the technique as a young girl in an internment camp and its ability to reverse and layer images continued to interest her for decades.
  • c. 1955/60–2013
    Collection of the artist (1926–2013), by descent
    2013–23
    Estate of the artist
    ?–September 11, 2023
    (David Zwirner, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    September 11, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled (ZP.12B, Two-Lobed, Looped-Wire Sculptural Form)|url=false|author=Ruth Asawa|year=c. 1955–60|access-date=30 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.124