Archie Rand’s Landmark Letter Paintings Acquired by Italy’s Modena FC Collection
Italy’s Modena FC corporate collection has acquired 44 works from Archie Rand’s “Letter Paintings” series, Jarvis Art announced this week. Rand made the paintings between 1968 and 1971 as a teenager, and the group was previously shown at the Museum of the Carnegie Institute in 1983 and reunited at Exit Art in New York in 1991, where New York Times critic Roberta Smith praised their blend of Color Field painting and Conceptual references. The series reflects Rand’s early break from the orbit of painter Larry Poons and critic Clement Greenberg, as he instead inscribed names of admired musicians, poets, artists, and public figures across abstract canvases. Jarvis Art founder Lindsay Jarvis said the acquisition, alongside the gallery’s recent Rand show “Heads,” underscores the longevity of the artist’s work.
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This story was covered in Museum Power Shifts and Daylight Gold Heists