Untitled (Blot), 2014 is carefully crafted by Kerry James Marshall to give the illusion of an abstract, gestural painting akin to those made famous by artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Because its symmetricity reminds the viewer of a Rorschach test and because the image has been so precisely composed, Marshall refers to this monumental piece as a figurative rather than an abstract painting. With it, he references the absence of the black figure in the canon of art history, and how many African American artists turned to abstraction in the hopes of attaining the levels of renown enjoyed by their white colleagues. The painting asks why no black artist achieved household fame like Pollock, and with the colours of the Pan-African flag it opines the absence of the black figure in celebrated works of art.

The image of Untitled (Blot), 2014, is used with the generous permission of Kerry James Marshall for the support of Artist in Residence Studio Program (AIRS), a non-profit Vancouver-based initiative operating in partnership with the Vancouver School Board to reclaim spaces for the visual arts within the public elementary schools. rennie foundation is underwriting costs to ensure proceeds from every sale goes directly to AIRS to create dedicated art studio spaces in elementary schools with socio-economic disadvantage and facilitate a local, professional artist-in-residence to work alongside teachers and provide meaningful hands-on visual arts engagements for children. https://airsprogram.org/

Please wear this scarf with joy, in the knowledge that you have helped to bring art to kids who otherwise would not have had access.

Price and Details

  • Price: $1,000 USD (shipping included, 100% of proceeds go directly to the AIRS program)
  • One time, limited production
  • 100% cashmere
  • Hand rolled edge
  • Presented in a 100% silk pouch (8.5″ x 11.5”)
  • 56 7/8 × 81 in
  • 144.5 × 205.7 cm

Order Form