Nancy Graves’ painting Reversal is the inverse of Equivalent, a similarly sized work painted in 1978, in that the colors are rendered as their opposites. The tripartite division of the canvas is retained, as is the central linear motif referencing Quipu, a large bronze sculpture of the same year. A quipu is an Incan/Andean record-keeping device made of colored ropes with knots that represent numerical information.
During this period Graves was creating complex layered compositions that cited her earlier work, generating an archaeology of her own artmaking, a concept that was central to her practice.
Citing her earlier sculpture, these paintings reflect her engagement with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, one representing the other in successive yet distinct versions. As a self-described “objective” artist Graves referenced extant scientific visual information such as diagrams and maps from the very beginning of her career.
- The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, 1982 Invitational Exhibition 6/4/1982.
- Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, Nancy Graves (1940-1995), Between Painting and Sculpture: A Selection from the Eighties 10/9/1997.
- The Lowe Gallery, Atlanta, GA, Nancy Graves: Paintings, Sculpture and Works on Paper 1/12/2001.
- Balken, Debra Bricker, 1982 Invitational Exhibition, The Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA, 1982, p. 16.