DC -- Donald W. Reynolds Center (SAAM) -- Exhibit: Abstract Drawings:
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Description of Pictures: Abstract DrawingsJune 15, 2012 – January 6, 2013
Abstract Drawings presents a selection of forty-six works on paper from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection that are rarely on public display. From simple sketches to highly finished compositions, these works represent the rich possibilities of abstraction as a mode of artistic expression.
American artists began to experiment with abstraction in the early twentieth century. This installation includes works from the 1930s to 2009 by artists such as Joseph Cornell, Willem de Kooning, Gene Davis, Jacob Kainen, Man Ray, Theodore Roszak, and Sean Scully, among others. Most abstract drawings were created as independent works of art in which the artist explored an idea or the relationship of forms and colors, as in Bones by Andrea Way or Saber Dance by Gene Davis. In many of the drawings, references to objects, figures, or places remain visible, but they have been transformed into compositions that have only passing resemblance to their source of inspiration, such as Charles Seliger’s series of fourteen illustrations for the unfinished satire An Island in the Moon by poet William Blake. The collages by Joseph Cornell were based on Rorschach inkblots that were then transformed into images by the artist’s imagination and deft addition of line. Some of the featured drawings were preparatory for works of art in another medium, such as Al Held’s Untitled (Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension) (1975), which he created for an enormous two-part mural commissioned for the Social Security building lobby in Philadelphia.
The artworks on display were selected by Joann Moser, senior curator.
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
ABSTRT_120920_05.JPG: Abstract Drawings:
American artists began to experiment with abstraction in the early twentieth century. Some of their drawings were preparatory for works of art in another medium, such as Al Held's study for a mural or Dwinnel Grant's drawing for a film, both in this exhibition. Charles Selinger's series of illustrations for a selection of poems by William Blake was inspired by the characters Blake created.
Most abstract drawings were created as independent works of art in which the artists explored an idea or the relationship of forms and colors, as in John Ferren's watercolor. In many instances, references to objects, figures, or places remain visible, but they have been transformed into compositions that have only passing resemblance to the source of their inspiration, such as Willem de Kooning's Woman. The collages by Joseph Cornell were based on Rorschach inkblots that were then transformed into images by the artist's imagination and def addition of line.
The drawings in this exhibition reveal an important segment of the works on paper in the permanent collection of the museum. From simple sketches to highly finished compositions, they represent the rich possibilities of abstraction as a mode of artistic expression.
ABSTRT_120920_18.JPG: Woman, c 1952-1953
Willem de Kooning
ABSTRT_120920_24.JPG: Untitled, 1934
John Ferren
ABSTRT_120920_30.JPG: Organization No. 16, 1942
John Sennhauser
ABSTRT_120920_38.JPG: Untitled (NMG 1,264), c 1945
Will Henry Stevens
ABSTRT_120920_42.JPG: Aerodynamics, 1947
Charles Pollock
ABSTRT_120920_76.JPG: They Say the Owl is a Baker's Daughter -- Ophelia, 1971
Joseph Cornell
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