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Photo credit Tim Thayer
Untitled
Photo credit Tim Thayer

Untitled

Artist (American, born 1947)
Datec. 1975
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions13 1/4 × 13 1/4 in. (33.7 × 33.7 cm) Frame Size: 14 5/8 × 14 5/8 in. (37.1 × 37.1 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Object numberUAC3574
DescriptionThis heavily expressionist and grimly haunting figure series, frequently referred to as Chatelain’s “dark figures,” was created between 1975 to 1977. Each painting depicts people in a groundless, disorienting, and monochrome void. Even though the figures are abstracted, the implied relationship between the people is clear, such as “Untitled #103,” the most unambiguously violent scene of the series, in which a person is holding another at gun point. There is a thread of angst, aggression, and vulnerability throughout the series since each painting features a violent encounter based on moments from Chatelain’s time living in Detroit. The lack of detail in both the scene and the figures encourages a kind of blank anonymity in which the viewer can imagine anyone and anywhere, perhaps seeing themselves as the victim or attacker. The thick layers of paint and visible brush strokes add to the psychological underpinnings, enticing the viewer to consider the anxiety of being attacked and of being an attacker. Chatelain intentionally created the canvases of this series to sizes that would make it comfortable for only one person to view at a time, encouraging a close and intimate
experience with these intense scenes.
James Chatelain received a BFA from Wayne State University in 1971. He was an important member of the Cass Corridor movement in Detroit and was a co-founder of the Willis Gallery. His work is closely aligned with the urban expressionism style and experimentation that defined the Cass Corridor movement but he also gained notoriety as a practicing artist outside of Detroit by having studios in New York and Ohio.
Fiorucci
3/01/2018

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Photo credit Tim Thayer
James Chatelain
1975
Photo Credit Tim Thayer
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