Existing comment:
Hand-Held Paintings:
In the late 1950s, Robert Irwin, like many American artists,was driven by a fierce determination to move beyond the bravura brushwork and ostensibly unmediated emotional force that were the hallmarks of Abstract Expressionism, which still reigned as the foremost approach to painting in the United States. Perceiving his work to be mannered rather than spontaneous, Irwin began to paint on an unfashionably small scale so that he could produce more controlled, authentic gestures that he considered unattainable in larger format. The dramatic brushwork and small size of these abstractions suggest quickly rendered expressions or studies. Nonetheless, the range of subtle chromatic and material effects that Irwin achieved reflect his growing awareness that every choice, every mark has implications in the final composition, an idea he had gleaned from Zen pottery and rituals.
Irwin encased these paintings in deep, box-like frames, which he crafted from wood stained to complement each painting's palette, giving the frames an active compositional role. Irwin intended the artworks to be physically grasped by the viewer, thereby transforming the conventional detached encounter between painting and beholder into an intimate, dynamic engagement that unfolds across space and time. The "hand-held" paintings thus highlight our valuable physical and temporal relationships, not only to the artworks themselves but also to the world around us. |