The form and content of Untitled's coolly mediated composition reference the arts and crafts movement, the Bauhaus, and modernist painting. The ethics and aesthetics of these periods represent, for Berendes, a starting point for an ongoing engagement with geometric abstraction and with the applied arts, apparent in her use of craft-like materials, particularly the thread and wooden frame employed in Untitled.

Closely related to Berendes' series of 'folding screens' or 'paravents,' Untitled represents a new direction in a series of sculptures rooted in Berendes' interest in traditional Japanese folding screens. For Berendes, these 'paravents' function as a vehicle for exploring the questions of abstract painting and sculpture.

Untitled is decidedly sculptural, affirmed by the incorporation of a plinth in its construction - a clear indication that it is not to be confused with architecture or craft, although these possibilities are meant to be acknowledged. The restrained palette and composition of Untitled are both strongly rooted in the formal vocabularies of modernism, belied by the craft-like sensibility of the materials.

The rigorous formal language of historical movements finds a contemporary application in Berendes' work, and allows for social, political and cultural references to bleed in, filling it with meaning that is not only historically rich, but also expansive.