This exhibition explores Robert Motherwell’s working process and spirit that existed in the ambiance of his studio. Most people who view any artist’s work have no visual image or snapshot of the artist’s studio life. For Motherwell, his working environment was a sanctuary, which was self-sustaining at times: continually expansive, pregnant with the possibilities of how a word, a phrase or a poem provided a whole language of movements and reactions for the artist.
The idea of this exhibition is to paint the picture of that feeling. The viewer of this artist’s work is continually engaged in a constant journey through line and form. Getting lost in the process of the evolution of form, then finding the resultant manifestation of his use of shape, color, and line elicits a direct connection to the artist. This is a process that most every artist, especially Robert Motherwell, goes through, even when the end result is as minimal and automatic as a charcoal line no longer than the length of a paintbrush. The exhibition includes dynamic groupings of prints, unique prints and monotypes. Unique works on paper illuminate how the artist explored and experimented with different mediums and relationships from one discipline to another. Photo enlargements of Motherwell’s inspiration walls in his studio, or the artist in the act of working, and information panels add a personal dimension and bring extra potency to this strong collection of work.
The Turchin Center is pleased to collaborate with our good colleagues at Jerald Melberg Gallery in Charlotte, NC who organized this exhibition in partnership with the Dedalus Foundation which was founded by Motherwell to foster the understanding of modern art and modernism.
Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), The 40’S. Aquatint and Lift-Ground Etching on Moulin du Gué Rives de Lin Paper, 1983. Courtesy Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC. Copyright 1983 Dedalus Foundation, Inc. / Licensed by VAGA, NY.