The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

A vertically oriented color open bite etching in muted yellows, pinks, and greens depicts a fluid, abstract composition. A large, jagged form in ochre and green occupies the left. Wavy blue and green lines trace organic forms around a pale center. In the lower right corner, a small striped figure sits within a bright green, fluid shape. Horizontal stripes and a mottled texture fill various segments of the fractured shapes.

Creation

1979

Joyce Wellman

(American, 1949-)
America
color open bite etching with simultaneous color printing
Image: 50.2 x 39.7 cm (19 3/4 x 15 5/8 in.); Sheet: 61.3 x 50.2 cm (24 1/8 x 19 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2024.87
© Joyce Wellman
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This print is a trial proof, a unique impression printed by the artist and master printer during the process of establishing the color scheme for the image.

Description

Contemporary printmaker Joyce Wellman experimented with color printing alongside master printer Robert Blackburn, creating abstract images such as the one seen here. Wellman saw such compositions as able “to encourage broad, diverse audiences to explore, conjecture, wonder, recall memories, and experience ways that visual imagery can connect us to our . . . selves.” She began to explore the graphic arts after studying the medium with Valerie Maynard, an important sculptor within the Black Arts Movement at the Studio Museum in Harlem during the 1960s.
  • ?-2024
    (Dolan/Maxwell, Philadelphia, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2024-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Creation|url=false|author=Joyce Wellman|year=1979|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.87