Expanding On Abstraction

Exhibit explains, complements Crystal Bridges’ collection

Richard Tuttle’s “Three Europes Drop Through, #1,” a pastel on paper made in 1990, is among many items from the Arkansas Arts Center collection that are currently on display at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. The work is part of the new exhibit “Abstractions on Paper,” which explores Abstract Expressionist work.

Richard Tuttle’s “Three Europes Drop Through, #1,” a pastel on paper made in 1990, is among many items from the Arkansas Arts Center collection that are currently on display at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. The work is part of the new exhibit “Abstractions on Paper,” which explores Abstract Expressionist work.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Of the many schools and movements of American art, perhaps Abstract Expressionism is the most discussed. And why not?

The giant color field works of Mark Rothko, the drip paintings made famous by Jackson Pollock and the shape and color works by Adolph Gottlieb all inspire debate and a desire for further examination.

And just like other sweeping art movements - Minimalism, Post-Modernism, etc. - the styles often came in response to a previous movement or find inspiration in them.

“It’s so important for people to understand it (Abstract Expressionism) didn’t happen overnight,” says Manuela Well-Off-Man, assistant curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

Even as Crystal Bridges works to build upon its examples of Abstract Expressionism - the museum dropped an estimated $25 million on a Rothko this summer - it also seeks to further explain what it already has.

That’s one of ideas behind the new exhibit “Abstractions on Paper,” which debuted in mid-January and will be on display through April 29.

Contained in the collection are 29 images from the Arkansas Arts Center, all of which demonstrate Abstract Expressionism, its precursors or subsequent but related ideas. The works in the exhibit were selected by Well-Off-Man and fellow Crystal Bridges curator Kevin Murphy from the extensive collection owned by the Arkansas Arts Center.

Well-Off-Man had been told the Little Rock arts center’s works were first class; she wasnot disappointed.

“It’s a really strong collection,” she says.

It’s a rather large one, too.

The Arkansas Arts Center has about 5,000 drawings and another 3,000 prints. Many of those pieces now circulate through galleries, much theway Crystal Bridges has temporary claimed some.

Among the artists represented in the collection now at Crystal Bridges are Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb and more. Well-Off-Man was particularly interested in works that highlighted or further explained works already part of the Crystal Bridges collection. For instance, an early study by Blanche Lazzell called “Study #6 For Cubist Composition” - just one part of a series owned by the Little Rock facility - bears resemblance to her “Painting XI,” which is ownedby Crystal Bridges. Likewise, Gottlieb’s large, colorful work “Trinity,” which is prominently displayed in Crystal Bridges’ gallery space, has common elements with the lithograph work “Figure Eight.”

Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center, says a few of the selections Crystal Bridges now displays show studies or works in progress. But for many, paper was the final and intended form.

“These are artists who enjoy the experimentation of doing something on paper,” he says.

Well-Off-Man says the works provide both a supplement to the museum’s collection andalso a way to highlight lesserknown artists. Because of the fragile nature of works on paper, which tend to lose color as they are exposed to light, the pieces will be displayed only for a short amount of time before being returned to the Arkansas Arts Center.

Herman says arts center policy is to display works for no longer than three months, then return them to darkness for at least two years. That means every piece now on display at Crystal Bridges has not been viewed publicly for at least two years and will not be again for the same period of time.

Whats Up, Pages 21 on 02/01/2013