Dark and dramatic, this stormy painting has a central circular golden form surrounded by swirling black and turquoise brushstrokes and seems to reference space or sky. Mark layered torn bits of paper under and over the paint to create texture and form. Two other collage paintings also have a similar central yellow form, Collage Painting #63-5 (LMPF Inv. no. 25JM) and an untitled collage painting (LMPF Inv. no. 27R).

Collage Painting #40, a landscape-like work, was one of over thirty works exhibited in the only solo show documented during Mark's lifetime: Libbie Mark: Paintings and Collages, May 15–June 9, 1962 at Knapik Gallery, New York, NY. Not only does this piece have its original frame, it even has an intact 1962 Knapik exhibition number label. It is relatively small in size, and mounted on Masonite, both typical of Mark's works from the early 1960s. This painting was also exhibited in Mark's first posthumous solo show Art of the Abstract Mark: Libbie Mark’s Collage Paintings and Other Works, 1950s–1960s, January 18–February 25, 2022 at the National Arts Club, New York, NY. This Abstract Expressionist work is featured in the 56-page exhibition catalogue, which contains 27 vivid full-page color reproductions, two essays, a chronology, and additional illustrations. The catalogue is available online, and at Berry Campbell.

Berry Campbell Inv. no. MARK-00003
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