Untitled (LA MoCA portfolio)

After a nearly 30-year break, Puryear returned to printmaking when he was invited to contribute to a portfolio to benefit the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Typical of his evocative shapes, the motif seen here can be interpreted as a head with hoop earrings or as an inverted jug with handles. This work also represents the artist’s foray into the chine collé technique, whereby a thin silky sheet of paper (chine) is laid down on a primary support sheet during printing. As the chine picks up minute particles of ink, it lends extraordinary depth to the etched black area.