Untitled 1969

This untitled work by Gary Kuehn includes an open wooden crate and a large wedge of pale yellow resin. Kuehn was associated with artists who rejected the slick perfection of Minimalism. Instead, they embraced humble materials and processes. Here, the artist contrasts a rigid, geometric wood structure, which may have come from industrial packaging, with a thick pour of resin. It’s not a traditional art material, but rather something you might find in construction or manufacturing. The resin retains every ripple and imperfection, bearing witness to the process of its own making. You can almost imagine the artist pouring this material into a mold, and letting it set. This embrace of process over the perfect end-product was very significant for art in the 1960s and 70s. It questioned distinctions between high art and everyday creation, and brought labor and materiality to the fore.