"Chapter and Verse" Mixed Media on Canvas

An abstract composition dense with fine graphite and ink markmaking, a webbed field of small geometric shapes, circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, scattered across the surface, punctuated by small squares of saturated color in red, blue, black, and ochre. The effect reads as a kind of visual notation, more diagram than image, built up in thin, controlled layers rather than gesture. Attributed to David Shapiro (American, 1944–2014), Chapter and Verse, 1980.

Shapiro worked across watercolor, graphite, and small collage elements within a single piece, building compositions that combined a screen-like grid of line drawing with scattered fields of color, a mode sometimes described as complex minimalism. He exhibited and sold through the American auction market over several decades, with works of this type appearing regularly at Invaluable and similar houses.

Artist: David Shapiro (American, 1944–2014)
Title: Chapter and Verse
Medium: Mixed media on canvas (acrylic, watercolor, graphite)
Date: 1980
Place of Origin: United States