Christopher Wool Untitled (Cats in Bag) Portfolio (1990) – Contemporary Conceptual Print Series for Sale
Christopher Wool is one of the most important contemporary American artists, widely recognised for his radical approach to painting, text, and reproduction-based image-making. Emerging in the late 1980s, Wool’s practice challenged conventional ideas of authorship, originality, and visual language, positioning him as a key figure in post-conceptual art.
The Untitled (Cats in Bag) portfolio (1990) is one of Wool’s most significant early works on paper, consisting of a series of 11 colour photocopy works. For collectors searching for Christopher Wool prints for sale or important conceptual art portfolios, this work represents a foundational moment in the artist’s practice.
About Christopher Wool Untitled (Cats in Bag) (1990)
Created in 1990, Untitled (Cats in Bag) is a portfolio of 11 colour photocopies published by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. The edition exists as a proof outside the edition of 25 and was gifted by the artist.
Each work in the portfolio features repeated imagery and text-based compositions that reflect Wool’s early engagement with appropriation, mechanical reproduction, and conceptual sequencing.
Rather than presenting a single image, the portfolio operates as a system — a sequence of variations that interrogate repetition, meaning, and visual structure.
Christopher Wool and Text-Based Conceptual Art
Christopher Wool is best known for his text paintings and silkscreen works that reduce language to stark visual form. His practice often uses stencilled words, repetition, and industrial processes to explore the breakdown of meaning in contemporary culture.
In Untitled (Cats in Bag), Wool extends these concerns into photocopy-based media, using reproduction technologies that remove traditional painterly gesture and emphasise mechanical output.
The result is a work that sits between photography, printmaking, and conceptual documentation.
Why Collect Christopher Wool Untitled (Cats in Bag)?
Collectors and institutions continue to value this portfolio for several reasons:
- Important early conceptual work by Christopher Wool
- Created in 1990 during a key transitional period in the artist’s career
- Portfolio of 11 works using colour photocopy processes
- Published by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
- Strong institutional provenance (MoMA collection example)
- Key example of Wool’s move toward mechanical reproduction
- Highly relevant to text-based and conceptual art collecting
This portfolio is widely recognised as an important precursor to Wool’s later large-scale text paintings.
Christopher Wool Print and Market Context
Christopher Wool’s market has expanded significantly over the past two decades, with strong demand for both his paintings and works on paper. Early conceptual works from the late 1980s and early 1990s are particularly sought after due to their historical importance and influence on contemporary painting.
Portfolios such as Untitled (Cats in Bag) are increasingly valued by collectors focusing on:
- Post-conceptual art
- Language-based contemporary art
- Early 1990s American painting movements
- Museum-quality conceptual portfolios
As a result, works from this period are considered highly significant within Wool’s broader practice.
Artwork Details
Artist: Christopher Wool
Title: Untitled (Cats in Bag)
Year: 1990
Medium: Portfolio of 11 colour photocopies
Publisher: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Edition: Proof outside edition of 25
Dimensions: approx. 36.1 × 27.9 cm (each sheet)
Category: Conceptual portfolio / works on paper
Available at Lougher Contemporary
Untitled (Cats in Bag) is available through Lougher Contemporary as part of our curated selection of important contemporary conceptual works.
For collectors looking to buy Christopher Wool prints or acquire early conceptual portfolios, this work represents a rare opportunity to access a key moment in the development of the artist’s internationally recognised practice.