Rolling (Primary Title)
Adolph Gottlieb, American, 1903 - 1974 (Artist)
“Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risk. This world of the imagination is fancy-free and violently opposed to common sense. It is our function as artists to make the spectator see our way, not his way.” —Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman
Gottlieb used abstract shapes and colors to express deep, subconscious levels of thought and emotion. A series of works he described as imaginary landscapes led, in the late 1950s, to his “burst” paintings. Rolling is one of these. Luminous red and blue disks hovering in the upper part of the composition suggest planets, while an agitated tangle of brushstrokes below evokes the earth. Gottlieb’s masterful, calligraphic brushwork exemplifies the Abstract Expressionist emphasis on gesture.
Made in America, Virginia Beach Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA, April 5 – June 11, 1989
Adolph Gottlieb, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, February 14 – March 31, 1968; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, April 26 – June 2, 1986
Adolph Gottlieb, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, April 28 – June 29, 1963; VII Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, September – December 1963
Abstract Expressionists and Imagists, Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, October – December 1961.
[1] Not confirmed. Sidney Janis Gallery, New York presented "Adolph Gottlieb" from October 1 - 27, 1961. Need exhibition checklist.
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