Gentless (Brushstroke), 1972

Gesso, marble dust, modeling paste, and graphite on high-density fiberboard
© Estate of Rosemarie Castoro; courtesy Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery.

A self-described “paintersculptor,” the American artist Rosemarie Castoro emerged within the context of the Minimalist and conceptual art practices that dominated 1960s New York. In 1970 Castoro began producing large-scale, freestanding panels whose textured surfaces she covered in graphite shading. By 1972 these panels had evolved into a body of wall-based reliefs, of which Gentless (Brushstroke) is one example. As the artist recalled, “The panels of graphite drawings grew, stood by themselves, and became room spaces” before “the corners turned and brushstrokes snapped away and landed smack on the existing brick walls of my studio.” To make the works in this Brushstroke series, Castoro applied a mixture of gesso, marble dust, and modeling paste to Masonite panels and used a mop or non-artist’s brush to create a deep-grained texture. Once the coating had dried, she cut out brushstroke shapes with a jigsaw, preserving the delicately jagged edges, and rubbed graphite over the surfaces.