Untitled (from Splints) 1987

Mira Schendel made this untitled artwork of painted wood splints, likely in Brazil where she lived and worked. It's an object of deceptively simple making: a blank white rectangle in the lower half of the picture plane, overlaid with a black slat set at a diagonal. Schendel’s use of industrial materials like wood and paint speaks to the post-war period, when artists were exploring new avenues of expression, even using construction materials, and engaging with minimalist aesthetics. The black wood splint emphasizes line and direction, which contrasts with the flatness of the larger white rectangle, almost as if it were piercing through the painting. The labor involved is the preparation of the wood, and the layering of the paint. The result transforms these basic industrial processes into a statement that is both sculptural and pictorial. Considering this artwork through materials and making processes helps us to understand its deeper meaning and cultural value, going beyond traditional distinctions between art and craft.