Guano
- Artist: Judit Reigl
- Date: 1958–62
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1529 x 2000 x 30 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Guano” by Judit Reigl. Imagine a canvas sprawled on the studio floor, a storm of paint falling from her brushwork, pooling and hardening into a crust. Reigl then steps back, scrapes away layers, and re‑paints across the surface, leaving horizontal furrows that feel almost like archaeological strata. The title hints at the guano of seabirds and bats, a natural layer of accumulated waste, echoing how the paint itself is an accumulation of discarded work. The texture runs from dark greys to lighter, striated khakis, suggesting the worn patina of pavement or ancient walls. It’s a dialogue between chance—what fell where—and deliberate gestural intervention. Reigl’s process turns the canvas into a palimpsest, a visual memory of layers that feels both urban and timeless. The result is an abstract yet deeply historical surface that invites you to trace its hidden stories.
See it in person
Guano is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
