Untitled,

1977

The subtle variations of tone and the vibrating, confetti-like texture in this large-scale color field painting result from Pindell’s experiments with materials and process. She punched holes out of a sheet of colorfully painted paper and pressed the resulting dots and paper remnants into the thickly painted surface of an unstretched canvas to create a series of richly encrusted layers. The hole punch, she explained, allowed her to create “very small points of color and light” without relying on paintbrushes. Using everyday craft materials—a hole punch, glitter, and sequins—Pindell subverted the bold, sweeping gestures of twentieth-century large-scale abstract painting, associated primarily with white male artists.