Welling, James | #31, 1998 — available on Composition Gallery

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Gelatin-silver print, signed by the artist.

#31 by James Welling, created in 1998, is a striking gelatin-silver print that captures the artist's fascination with abstraction and form. This black-and-white photograph, part of a limited edition of 100 and signed by Welling, features a dense arrangement of intersecting black lines against a stark white background. The overlapping and angular forms create a sense of dynamic tension and depth, as if a structure has been deconstructed into pure, geometric fragments. Welling’s exploration of light, shadow, and spatial ambiguity in this piece invites viewers to contemplate the balance between order and chaos, and the ways in which abstraction can evoke movement and complexity. Measuring 26 cm by 21.4 cm, #31 reflects Welling’s unique approach to minimalism and the expressive possibilities within monochrome photography.

James Welling (USA, 1951) is a contemporary artist known for his innovative approach to photography. Exploring abstraction, color, and materiality, his works often blur the line between photography, painting, and sculpture. Welling’s experimental techniques challenge traditional photographic processes, redefining the medium in the context of modern art.

James Welling

#31, 1998

Name: #31, 1998
SKU: 4948
Price: 1250.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

Form

Limited Edition Print

Limited Edition PrintA limited edition print is one of a number of prints made at the same time from one printmaking plate. A fixed number are made and signed by the artist, indicating the printing order, using the format 1/10, meaning first of ten prints.

Medium

Photograph

PhotographA photograph is an image captured with a camera. Traditionally, photographs were made by exposing film and then developing the image on light-sensitive paper using chemicals. Today, photographs can also be captured digitally and printed or displayed electronically. The process requires a camera, whether film or digital, and a photographer.

Edition

Edition of 100

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Gelatin-silver print, signed by the artist.

James Welling

#31, 1998

Limited Edition Print

Photograph

EUR 1,250

No sold works to show.

It’s not that I don’t care about content, but content is not the only way a photograph has meaning.
- James Welling

James Welling is a US postmodern photographer and artist, working within the fields of post-conceptualism and abstract representation in photography. He graduated with a BFA and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he studied under the conceptual artist John Baldessari, and alongside the artist and curator Dan Graham. Welling's art and photographs can be categorized as experimental and avant-garde, and he has worked with various different photographic mediums throughout his career: including gelatin prints, digital prints, monochrome, Polaroids, and 'photograms'. Notable works by James Welling include his Abstract Photographs: 1980-2016, in which he presents numerous visual meditations upon chemicals, drapes, aluminum foil and furniture; Photograms: 1974-2014, in which he ruminates upon flowers, torsos, and billboards; and Light Sources: 1992-2001, in which he explores the behavior of light and shadow in various contexts. In 1985, a James Welling photograph was used for the cover of alternative/post-punk band Sonic Youth's album Bad Moon Rising, and in 2010 he provided six monochrome images for publication with poet Susan Howe's collection That This. Welling has held numerous academic and teaching posts, including Head of Photography at UCLA, and Visiting Professor of Photography at Princeton University. (Artist website)

Artwork by Louise Bourgeois

What is Postmodernism?

Postmodernism is an art movement that emerged as a reaction against authority and traditional boundaries, seeking to blur the lines between art and everyday life. It aimed to bridge the gap between the cultural elite and the general public by embracing eclectic mixtures of earlier conventions and styles. Postmodernist art often challenges established norms and celebrates diversity, irony, and pastiche, making it a movement that reflects the complexities of contemporary culture.

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James Welling

#31, 1998

26 x 21.4 cm

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James Welling