JULY 03 - AUGUST 30, 2003
Discovered Dialogues in Postwar Abstraction
Untitled #81
DBK-052-OP
East vs.West. Emotion vs. Intellect. Organic vs.Geometric. These are just some of the themes explored in "Pairings:Discovered Dialogues in Postwar Abstractions," on view at Hackett-Freedman Gallery, July 8 to August 30, 2003.
Featuring pairs of paintings and works on paper by modern masters from both East and West Coast schools of abstract expressionism,this exhibition invites us to experience each work in relation to another,sometimes radically different,work. Featured artists include Richard Diebenkorn, Willem de Kooning, Hassel Smith, Joan Mitchell, Manuel Neri, Hans Hofmann, Sam Francis, Frank Lobdell, Esteban Vicente, and Robert Motherwell.
Whether they reveal hitherto unknown similarities or break down long-held assumptions, the juxtapositions in this exhibition offer a fresh and revealing context for these works. By placing the works in pairs, relationships that might not otherwise be noticed become evident and threads of influence or currents of style that link the two together come to the fore. While some of the pairings illuminate similarities, either formal or philosophical, others investigate differences.
In another instance, it is the work of a third painter that inspires the duo. A small triptych by Joan Mitchell, a New York artist, placed next to a large painting by Edward Dugmore, a San Francisco artist, reveals the wide-ranging influence of Mark Rothko on abstract American art. Both paintings pay homage to Rothko, whose presence was felt in both the San Francisco and New York schools of abstract expressionism in the 1950s, and both feature his signature hovering rectangles: In Dugmore they are luminous and transcendental, whereas in Mitchell they are vibrating and energized.
Other pairings bring Frank Lobdell in juxtaposition with his friend Richard Diebenkorn; Diebenkorn with fellow peer Jack Jefferson; and Hans Hofmann with his student, Judith Rothschild. Taken together, these pairings offer a unique and thought-provoking opportunity to view exemplary works by these masters of postwar abstraction.