was in the Zurich Concrete school along with Verena (and others) which was one of the staunchest formalist movements of the last century. Bill said their Art “without external reference to natural phenomena or their transformation” and that it was “the expression of the human spirit, intended for the human mind, and it is of that sharpness, clarity and perfection that must be expected from works of the human spirit.”
#maxbill
I encourage my students to pick at least one abstract art work that resonates each week and wrote a few sentences about it. One of them chose Lyubov recently (reminds me of Arthur). Popova was one of the first female pioneers in Cubo-Futurism. Through a synthesis of styles she worked towards what she termed painterly architectonics.
#lyubovpopova
Born in 1912, Swiss artist Verena Loewensberg was a leading figure of the influential Zurich school of concrete artists. The only female member of the group, which also included Max Bill, Camille Graeser and Richard Paul Lohse, Loewensberg distinguished herself through her oeuvre’s formal and chromatic flair. In her work, structured oil compositions are animated by wide-ranging color and shape, yielding a precise yet poetic art. Hauser & Wirth has organized Kind of Blue to celebrate the same.
#verenaloewensberg
Curator Alexis Lowry traces the playful quality of Charlotte’s sculptures, drawings, and photographs, illuminating their connections to her Minimalist contemporaries along with broader socio-political concerns on Dia’s blog in the context of “Charlotte Posenenske: Work in Progress” which he curated.
#charlotteposenenske
Over at the Brooklyn Rail, Tom suggests that Simon (1922–2008) realized in his later painting that making a mark upon the world can be seen as an act of hubris or a frank recognition of the limits of unique inscription (after having disproven to himself the moral efficacy of the former).
#simonhantai
(from the 2019 essay This strange, intoxicating “Almost Nothing” by Yorghos Tzirtzilakis) In discussing the work of Cristos Gianakos one can only start from reconsidering a question: what is the current meaning of that form of contemporary art most people call ‘minimal-ism’? In this case minimalism does not stop at a sketchy, formalized, rational version or at a belated celebration of ‘littleness’; instead it goes on to a dispersion which is, in fact, in tune with the character of our times and our culture.”
#crisgianakos
Barry-Schwabsky at Brooklyn Rail remembers the critical contributions Sherman regularly made between 2006 and 2011 and discusses his current work Sam’s related to his two-person exhibition at MAMOTH, London, alongside Nancy Shaver.
#shermansam
Advancing Mystified Perspective is one of Artsy’s 5 standout small gallery shows to check out this January.
#reishikusaka
gets a nod from Alan Lo in Artsy recent survey of 9 collectors. Naotaka was in New Abstracts at LACMA last fall along with Sarah, Jade, Lee and others.
#naotakahiro
is a UK based painter (which I only mention because his palette reminds me a bit of John Hoyland) who says his work is “about exploring never about answers”
#mikeryder
Writing about Jean yesterday made me think of Joan. According to MOMA, the Surrealists sought to liberate “the real functioning of the mind” through “a pure psychic automatism,” free of “any control exercised by reason.” Their approach to art making, as defined by Breton, inspired Miró. He later recounted, “Rather than setting out to paint something, I begin painting and as I paint the picture begins to assert itself….,The first stage is free, unconscious.” But, he continued, “The second stage is carefully calculated.”
Resonates for me.
#joanmiro
Writing about Jane yesterday made me think of Jean. I often speak and write about Modernism and Jean was about as high Modernist as you can get- he was a founder of the Moderner Bund group and spent lots of time Robert and Sonia Delaunay in Paris and Vasily Kandinsky in Munich.
His spouse, Sophie, was also a great creative.
#jeanarp
The first and only time I’ve seen one of Samia’s paintings was in Taking Shape, an overview of Modernist abstraction in the Arab world.
The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University was set to open the first American retrospective of Samia. The show “Samia Halaby: Centers of Energy” was scheduled to open on February 10th 2024, and run until June 9th 2024. The exhibition had been planned by the museum for more than three years and included a substantial catalog, as well as a sister exhibition at Halaby’s other alma mater, Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum, to open in late 2024.
On December 20th 2023, Halaby was informed by the museum’s leadership in a two-sentence letter that the exhibition was canceled out of “safety concerns,” despite no evidence of threats to the artwork or the campus. After privately appealing the decision to IU President Pamela Whitten and receiving no response, the artist and her supporters have gone public to ask for support to reinstate the exhibition.
#samiahalaby
Piers is a British artist working in painting and printmaking. His pieces often combine the use of a limited palette and application of the medium to create prominent forms and composition. Piers has enjoyed a successful career as an interior designer, which often informs his works.
#piersphillips
Painting After Art is Dead 