Curled Figure XVIII (study)

Robert Mangold

Acrylic and black pencil on canvas

National Gallery of Art

This contemplative study showcases Robert Mangold's signature fusion of subtle acrylic washes with elegant hand-drawn graphite lines that curl gracefully across the picture plane. Part of his acclaimed Curled Figure series from the early 2000s, the work exemplifies Mangold's minimalist approach—distilling painting to its essential elements of shape, line, and color while inviting extended meditation. A pioneering figure of American Minimalism who once worked alongside Sol LeWitt as a guard at MoMA, Mangold has spent six decades exploring geometry and gesture, making this piece a refined expression of one of postwar art's most influential abstract voices.