Untitled (Enclosed) 1978

This is an untitled collage by Robert Nickle, likely made from found paper and card. Nickle took these everyday materials and elevated them to the realm of art. The artwork's impact is derived from the inherent qualities of the materials, from the delicate fibers of the pink paper strip to the coarser texture of the beige card. The processes of tearing, layering, and adhering are all visible, revealing the artist’s hand and the history of the materials themselves. In Nickle's work, fragments become precious, imbued with a sense of time and place. The fragment with the word 'Enclosed' hints at a wider social context, alluding to the world of commerce and communication from which these scraps originate. Nickle subtly draws our attention to the labor and systems of production behind even the most mundane objects. Ultimately, the artwork challenges us to reconsider the value and meaning we assign to materials, blurring the boundaries between the readymade and the carefully constructed.