Number 23, 1951

Jackson Pollock temporarily turned away from his colorful, all-over drip paintings to create a group of exclusively black “pourings.” Here, thinned enamel paint, flung or squirted with a large basting syringe, seeps into the unprimed canvas and dries very slowly, blending and combining the artist’s gestural swirls. While some previous works had been non-representational—complete abstractions—Pollock’s black paintings often included mysterious figures from his subconscious, like the face and breasts (or hands?) seen here. This work thus shows his interest in surrealism and psychology, as well as his ongoing experiments with the materials and processes of painting.

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