The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 14, 2026

A horizontally oriented print on white paper features a centered square divided into two rows of three rectangles. In the top row, a white vertical bar is sandwiched between two black rectangles. In the bottom row, a black vertical bar sits between two white rectangles. These alternating tones create a high-contrast grid. The white areas display a fine, grainy texture, while small pencil markings appear in the lower margin.

Untitled

2024

Cornelia Thomson

(German, b. 1970)
Germany
aquatint
Sheet: 58.4 x 66 cm (23 x 26 in.)
Gift of Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley 2025.159.4
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Cornelia Thomson's work often features rational, repeated shapes as a means of, in her words, imposing “stability, order and the ability to take control of my narrative since I was at the whim of cultural and political systems in the past.”

Description

Cornelia Thomson’s Silver Ratio Series is part of an ongoing project aimed at visualizing mathematical formulas. Each print is created precisely using a ruler and a copper plate, building upon Thomson’s continued experimentation with the golden ratio, a mathematical concept in which the ratio between two numbers equals approximately 1.618 and which is present in various proportions of the human body. Thomson uses her practice as a means of reflection on her experiences in former East Germany, including hardships of daily life and the contrast between these experiences and that of capitalism upon her move to the United States.
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled|url=false|author=Cornelia Thomson|year=2024|access-date=14 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2025.159.4