These works on paper by Melvin Edwards relate to a body of barbed wire works conceived of by the artist for his solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art in 1970 – the museum's first show by an African American sculptor. Rendered in ink and watercolor on paper, these works make their subject the silhouettes of barbed wire. Edwards’ use of industrial materials such as wire and chains are used to evoke complex and menacing narratives of entrapment and labour while keying into and exploiting the geometric language of his Minimalist peers. Here, Edwards translates the ominous and monochrome metal wires into viscerally bright colors in a style somewhat akin to graffiti. These important works on paper are in no way studies. Indeed they are powerfully readable as independent works which provide an intriguing counterpoint to the sculptural practice for which the artist is most well known.