Morris Louis: Veils

Morris Louis - Point of Tranquility - 1959-60 - Magna on canvas - 251 x 361 cm - Private Collection (Click on Photo for Larger Size)Morris Louis (1912-1962) was one of the leading figures of Color Field painting. In his short yet prolific career, Louis continually experimented with method and medium, manipulating large canvases in creative ways to control the flow and stain of his acrylic paints

“Point of Tranquility” is an example of Louis' “Floral Veils”, the last series he completed before embarking on his “Unfurled” series. Louis created the “Florals” by turning the canvas as he poured the paint, as opposed to working from a single vantage point. He layered the acrylic in a pattern that suggests a flower, the bleeding pigment creating a muddled, washy surface at the center of the canvas. The "veils" are apparent in the overlap of pigment, where washes both obscure and reveal layers of thinned color.

Jules Olitski: Material, Surface and Color

Jules Olitski - Pink Alert - 1966 - Acrylic on canvas - 113 x 80 in. - National Gallery of Art Washington, DC

Jules Olitski (1922-2007) was a Russian-born American painter who was instrumental in the development of the Color Field school. Like his contemporaries, Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis, Olitski stained the surface of his canvases in a technique that rejected the gestural brushwork of the then-popular Abstract Expressionist artists.

With their emphasis on material, surface, and color's emotional strength, his signature works eliminated the illusion of depth and any evidence of the artist's touch. Although Olitski did not remain as well known as some of his fellow Color Field painters, his abstract "spray paintings" of the 1960s are still considered landmark works of this movement.

Morris Louis: Method and Medium

Morris Louis - Blue Veil - 1958 - Acrylic on canvas - Fogg Museum (Harvard Art Museums), Cambridge, MA (click photo for larger image)Morris Louis (1912-1962) became one of the leading figures of Color Field painting, along with his contemporaries Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler. In his short yet prolific career, most of which he spent in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Louis continually experimented with method and medium, manipulating large canvases in creative ways to control the flow and stain of his acrylic paints. His mature style, characterized by layered veils and rivulets of poured acrylic paint on untreated canvases, makes his paintings some of the most iconic works of Color Field Painting. Morris Louis was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1962 and soon after died at his home in Washington, D.C. on September 7, 1962. The cause of his illness was attributed to prolonged exposure to paint vapors.

The work featured here is part of what is known as the Veil series, named for its thin overlapping "veils" of acrylic Magna paint. This canvas is one of Louis's earliest experimentations with applying thin, quick-drying washes of color to unprimed canvas. The title may evoke the sense of shifting color and light that we are encouraged to perceive in this painting.

Ellsworth Kelly - The Hard Edge

Ellsworth Kelly - Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance VI - 1951 - Cut-and-pasted color-coated paper and pencil on four sheets of black paper - 37 1/4 x 37 1/4" (94.6 x 94.6 cm) Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), New YorkIn “Hard-edge painting”, abrupt transitions are found between color areas, the latter of which are often made up of one unvarying color. The Hard-edge painting style is related to several of the abstract postmodern movements. Ellsworth Kelly (born 1923) is an American artist associated with hard-edge painting, as well as with Color Field painting, and Minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques that emphasize the simplicity of form.

Mmmmm......Rothko Toast!

The latest tasty available at SFMOMA’s café on Third Street, in San FranciscoMark Rothko, No. 14, 1960, 1960; painting; oil on canvas, 114 1/2 in. x 105 5/8 in. (290.83 cm x 268.29 cm); Collection SFMOMA, Helen Crocker Russell Fund purchase; © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkRussian born Mark Rothko (1903-1970) was--and remains--one of the most famous postmodern American artists. His works introduced contemplative introspection into the post-World War II Abstract Expressionist school. Using color as the sole means of expression led to the development of Color Field painting. And Now...“Behold: Rothko toast, the latest artsy menu item SFMOMA's café on Third Street. Like the work that inspired it ("No. 14, 1960") the toast features two tones of color (apricot butter and wild blueberry jam).