Jackson Pollock · Summertime Number 9A

1948 – Oil and enamel on canvas – Tate Modern

London, Tate Gallery (www.tate.org.uk) © Jackson Pollock Foundation

Jackson Pollock is the most important figure of the American abstract expressionism, and “Summertime” is one of his most brilliant works, dating from his creative splendour, which comprehends the years between 1946 and 1950.

With a remarkable horizontal format, Pollock gives the composition a sensational rhythm and movement, which many critics have identified with a series of dancing figures. As in many of his masterpieces, Pollock has used the drip -the direct application of enamel on the canvas, forming nervous outlines- along with spots of pure colour. While in many occasions Pollock’s works are rather disappointing, often falling into a senseless figuration, in works like “Summertime”, “Lavender Mist” (Washington, National Gallery), “Out of the Web” or “Lucifer” -just to mention some of his masterpieces- Pollock is revealed as a dynamic and colossal genius able to canalize the tremendous energy of his psyche and turn it into gesture.

Text: G. Fernández, theartwolf.com