Jackson Pollock, Blue poles (Number 11, 1952), 1952. Enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas, 212.1 x 488.9 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016
Arshile Gorky, Water of the Flowery Mill, 1944. Oil on canvas, 107.3 x 123.8 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. © ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016. Photo © 2016. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art/ Art Resource/Scala, Florence
Exhibition of Abstract Expressionism at Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts presents the first major exhibition of Abstract Expressionism to be held in the UK in almost six decades. 24 September 2016 – 2 January 2017]]>
Source: Royal Academy of Arts
With over 150 paintings, sculptures and photographs from public and private collections across the world, this ambitious exhibition encompasses masterpieces by the most acclaimed American artists associated with the movement – among them, Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Phillip Guston, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Aaron Siskind, David Smith and Clyfford Still, as well as lesser-known but no less vital artists.
The selection aims to re-evaluate Abstract Expressionism, recognising that though the subject is often perceived to be unified, in reality it was a highly complex, fluid and many-sided phenomenon. Likewise, it revises the notion of Abstract Expressionism as based solely in New York.
Jackson Pollock’s monumental “Mural”, 1943 (University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa) and “Blue Poles”, 1952 (National Gallery of Australia, Canberra) are displayed in the same gallery for the first time, a juxtaposition unlikely to ever be repeated. Further highlights include Arshile Gorky’s “Water of the Flowery Mill”, 1944 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); Willem de Kooning’s “Woman II”, 1952 (The Museum of Modern Art, New York); Franz Kline’s “Vawdavitch”, 1955 (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago); Mark Rothko’s “No. 15, 1957” (Private Collection); Lee Krasner’s “The Eye is the First Circle”, 1960 (Courtesy Robert Miller Gallery, New York); and David Smith’s “Hudson River Landscape”, 1951 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York). Works by artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Lee Krasner and Ad Reinhardt also feature amongst others. In addition to Aaron Siskind and Minor White, the photographers include Harry Callahan, Herbert Matter and Barbara Morgan.
Dr David Anfam, co-curator of Abstract Expressionism said: “’Abstract Expressionism’ explores this vast phenomenon in depth and across different media, revealing both its diversity and continuities as it constantly pushed towards extremes. It brings together some of the most iconic works from around the world in a display that is unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime.”
Related content
Ai Weiwei exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts, London (exhibition, 2016)
Follow us on:
