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Untitled (That IS the title.)
October 03, 2025
Untitled (That IS the title.)
You’re standing in front of a work of art in a gallery. You examine the colors, the textures, the shadows, and start to wonder what the artist was thinking when they created this work of art. You glance over to the little white label next to the art to try and learn more and….
The artwork is “Untitled.”
Labels are generally a place to learn the details about an artwork. The artist’s name, the medium used to create the work of art, and the date the artist created the artwork are all typical parts of a label you find next to a work of art in a museum or gallery. You may get lucky and find a label with an artist statement or context for the artwork to give you better insight into the work of art. If not, the title can often shed a little light on what the artist may have been trying to portray with the artwork.
So why would an artist choose to leave an artwork as “Untitled?” Don’t they want you to know the message they are trying to portray through their art?
For some artists, selecting a name for a work of art can be a very significant, defining moment, or it can be the last word on their finished project. Some artists would rather leave the artwork to speak for itself, asking viewers to approach their art without any preconceived notions. Maybe, in fact, being untitled isn’t actually the absence of a name - “Untitled” is really the actual title. The artist is giving their viewers a chance to form their own impressions and find themselves within the artwork, perhaps even giving them the opportunity to give the artwork their own preferred title.
Next time you approach an untitled work of art, think of it as an advantage and not a disadvantage. Instead of feeling frustrated, see it as something freeing. The artist is allowing you to view this artwork with no assumptions, no preconceptions- but instead a moment for you to reflect on what the artwork means to you.
The GVSU Art Museum has MANY untitled works of art in its collection- over 8,000 in fact (if you’re curious, you can see many of them here). A few have been selected in the header above.
What would you name some of these works of art, instead of “Untitled?”
Are there any you wish had a title other than “Untitled?”
Explore other “Untitled” works of art in the collection.
Cyril Lixenberg, Untitled, mixed media on paper, 2013.15.94.
Patrick Millard, Untitled, carbon pigment print, 2010-2011,
2021.80.34.
Gil, Untitled, mixed media on paper, 2015, 2016.24.3.
Stephen Duren, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1993, 1999.901.1.
Ed Wong-Ligda, Untitled, oil on canvas, 2023.8.3.