{"id":7889,"date":"2010-10-15T04:46:52","date_gmt":"2010-10-15T13:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.furiousdreams.com\/blog\/?p=7889"},"modified":"2010-10-15T05:06:45","modified_gmt":"2010-10-15T13:36:45","slug":"abstract-expressionist-new-york-oct-3-2010-to-april-25-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furiousdreams.com\/blog\/abstract-expressionist-new-york-oct-3-2010-to-april-25-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Abstract Expressionist New York – Oct 3, 2010 to April 25, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

MoMA’s newest exhibit, Abstract Expressionist New York<\/a> presents a good overview of the NY school of abstract expressionism during its heyday in the 40’s and 50’s. I just wish the curator had included some of the best of the women in the group; Mitchell’s and Frankenthaler’s more ambitious works aren’t featured and they are not among the ‘selected artists’ on the museum’s website. Even worse, most of the linked work at the site has no images for these artists. So we’re left to google the titles for imagery.<\/p>\n

Joan Mitchell, (American, born in Chicago. 1926-1992) “Salut Tom”, 1979, oil on canvas, approx. 110″x 78″. Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

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Helen Frankenthaler, (American, born 1928) “Other Generations”, 1957, oil on unprimed canvas. 174.7h x 177.9 w cm. Purchased 1973 by National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.<\/p>\n

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Excerpt from Sharon Butler’s Two Coats of Paint<\/a> blog\u00c2\u00a0about MoMA’s Abstract Expressionist New York exhibit and links from Hrag Vartanian’s blog, Hyperallergic<\/a> below.<\/p>\n

Hans Hofmann (American, born Germany, 1880\u00e2\u20ac\u201c1966), “Memoria in Aeternum,” 1962, oil on canvas, 7′ x 6′ 1\/8,” \u00c2\u00a0The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the artist \u00c2\u00a9 2010 Renate, Hans & Maria Hofmann Trust \/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, this painting isn’t actually in the show–although it’s featured in all the press materials, which undoubtedly indicates a heartbreaking, last minute decision not to include it in the exhibition. Jack Tworkov (American, born Poland, 1900\u00e2\u20ac\u201c1982), “West 23rd,” 1963, oil on canvas, 60″ x 6′ 8.” The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase \u00c2\u00a9 Estate of Jack Tworkov, courtesy Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York.<\/em><\/p>\n

An artist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legacy, for better or worse, is always up for negotiation. Drawn from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, “Abstract Expressionist New York” presents work by the usual suspects \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell \u00e2\u20ac\u201c alongside work by less familiar artists like <\/em>Jack Tworkov<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Bradley Walker Tomlin<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Theodoros Stamos<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Adolph Gottleib<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Hedda Sterne<\/em><\/a>,<\/em>Grace Hartigan<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Romare Bearden<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>William Baziotes<\/em><\/a>, and <\/em>James Brooks<\/em><\/a>. Despite the ballyhoo that the show would be more inclusive than past Ab Ex offerings, the familiar easily outmuscled the newly anointed both in terms of wall space and inclusion in the press materials. Walking through the galleries I had to remind myself that each painting had been fresh and challenging in the moment of its creation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that the artists themselves, fierce but uncertain, spent hours looking, thinking and arguing about each incremental development, each artist fighting for a place in art history.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the gala opening reception, the artists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 heirs and estate representatives remained aware of the glory of the Abstract Expressionists\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 notorious competitiveness and the legend of their hard-earned struggle. At the same time, though, they understood that the campaign to achieve and maintain eminence continued well beyond the grave. Had the museum included enough pieces? Were they well installed in a prominent location? Did they stand up to the work surrounding them?<\/em><\/p>\n

Contemporary artists and curators, however, look at the show differently. In particular, “Abstract Expressionist New York” may move them to loosen the rationalist grip on the art world that has recently taken hold. Rather than offering didactic explanations for each aesthetic decision, artists may rediscover the value in enigmatic, emotionally-rooted work whose meaning is intuitively derived and not so easily explained. In addition, the visual language could have an impact on contemporary practice. Early Abstract Expressionist pieces \u00e2\u20ac\u201c especially work by Pollock, de Kooning, Newman, Motherwell, Kline, Arshile Gorky, Lee Krasner, and Richard Pousette-Dart \u00e2\u20ac\u201c relied heavily on line to convey both symbolic and emotional meaning, but autonomous line, not in service to the grid or created through masking techniques, is rarely the primary focus in painting these days. For my money, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing quite as poignant as the uneven quality of a hand-painted line. Painters might examine the show and rediscover how powerful line can be.<\/em><\/p>\n

The best retrospectives \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and Abstract Expressionist New York rates as one \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are those that influence the contemporary dialogue. To get things started, MoMA has <\/em>scheduled artists to give talks<\/em><\/a> in the galleries.<\/em><\/p>\n

November 4: Peter Halley
\nDecember 2: Josh Smith
\nJanuary 12: Richard Tuttle
\nFebruary 16: Amy Sillman
\nMarch 16: Robert Ryman
\nMarch 30: Ellen Gallagher<\/em><\/p>\n

Free with Museum admission. Sign-up begins on a first-come first-served basis at 3:00 p.m. outside the fourth floor exhibition entrance, where the tour begins. Groups are limited to twenty-five people. Additional Gallery Talks will take place in spring 2011, with details to be announced.<\/em><\/p>\n

“<\/em>Abstract Expressionist New York: The Big Picture<\/em><\/a>,” organized by Ann Temkin, with Michelle Elligott, Sarah Meister, and Paulina Pobocha. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. Through April 25, 2011.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kyle Chayka reports on Hyperallergic<\/a>:<\/p>\n