Spider Web

b. 1938, Riga, Latvia

This photorealistic print was commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lincoln Center. It depicts one of Celmins' signature subjects, the spider web, which she has represented in various media, including charcoal, oil paint, and multiple printmaking techniques.  "Maybe I identify with the spider," the artist has said. "I'm the kind of person who works on something forever and then works on the same image again the next day."

A master of several mediums, including oil painting, charcoal, and multiple printmaking processes, Vija Celmins’ work depicts renditions of natural scenes with uncanny accuracy and attention to detail. Her meticulously rendered images that convey solitude, stillness, and the indeterminacy of life lack a specific point of reference, horizon, or discernible depth of field and become limitless spaces, lending each image a sense of wonder and discovery.

In 2014, Celmins set a new artist auction record with the sale of "Burning Plane" (1965) for $3.41 million at Sotheby's.

A retrospective of 120 works spanning Vija Celmins' career was at the Met Breuer in 2020.

Each print is signed and numbered in pencil in the edition of 117.

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY