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Terrifying Terrain

1989–90
Not on view
Murray belonged to a generation of postmodern artists that challenged the austerity and impersonality of Minimalism and post-painterly abstraction by working in different techniques and styles simultaneously, blurring perceived boundaries between traditional media. Composed of multiple irregularly shaped canvases seemingly combined haphazardly, Terrifying Terrain is a sculptural painting—or a painted sculpture?—that conjures the precariousness of an awe-inspiring rock-climbing trip in Montana. Jagged, overlapping planes convey the mountainous landscape the artist experienced there, as well as the constant threat and fear of falling. The opening in the middle simulates the effect of a climber’s vertiginous view down into a ravine.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terrifying Terrain
  • Artist: Elizabeth Murray (American, Chicago, Illinois 1940–2007 Washington County, New York)
  • Date: 1989–90
  • Medium: Oil on shaped canvases
  • Dimensions: 84 1/2 in. × 85 in. × 11 in. (214.6 × 215.9 × 27.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Joseph H. Hazen Foundation Purchase Fund, in honor of Cynthia Hazen Polsky, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.77
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2004 Elizabeth Murray
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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