Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2021.

Untitled

Artist Alexander "Skunder" Boghossian (Ethiopian, 1937 - 2003)

Date1966

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions24 × 19 3/4 × 1 in. (61 × 50.2 × 2.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 26 1/8 × 22 × 2 1/8 in. (66.4 × 55.9 × 5.4 cm)

ClassificationsContemporary art

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2020.32

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an abstract oil painting on canvas. The painting is dominated by different tones of blue and green, and punctuated with lines and blocks of white, creating shapes that seem to flow into each other. Though there is no clear content, the work relates to the artist’s early style of creating almost biomorphic forms within his abstractions.
Label TextAlexander “Skunder” Boghossian Ethiopian, 1937–2003 Untitled, 1966 Oil on canvas Chrysler Museum of Art, Museum purchase 2020.32 Alexander “Skunder” Boghossian is considered a pioneer in the modernist art movement in Ethiopia. His paintings reflect his numerous interests: Ethiopian history, the Coptic Church, music, Surrealism, African iconography, and a shared connection between Africans and their African American counterparts in the United States. He traveled and studied in England and France, including at St. Martins School of Art and the Académie de la Grand Chaumière, among others, before eventually settling in Washington, D.C., in 1972. Similarly to Ibrahim El Salahi, Boghossian was involved in developing modernist art practices in his country by blending his Western training with African imagery and inspiration. His work was the focus of an exhibition at the Mbari Club in Ibadan in July 1963.