Barnett Newman

About this book

"One of the most enduringly influential Abstract Expressionists, Barnett Newman (1905-1970) took the genre to a startling new sphere. His tough, spare, emotive paintings were misunderstood and reviled by most critics when they first appeared in 1950 but came to command wide respect and even veneration by the end of the 1960s. Seemingly simple on first viewing, the paintings are in fact richly complicated and unexpectedly diverse. Newman aspired to breadth and nobility in his works, infusing them with deep meaning and producing a powerful physical presence through his mastery of expansive spatial effects and evocative color. While pursuing his personal quest, he managed to challenge, and profoundly change, the parameters of painting." "This book accompanies the first comprehensive exhibition of Barnett Newman's work in three decades. Two essays by prominent scholars survey Newman's career from his founding role in the New York School in the 1940s to his key influence on both Minimalism and conceptual art in the 1960s. Discussed at length are such Newman masterpieces as Onement I (1948), the series Stations of the Cross (1958-66), and the monumental sculpture Broken Obelisk (1967). Featuring 180 color illustrations of his paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures, the book also includes a comprehensive chronology of the artist's life based on new documentation, a selected exhibition history, and a selected bibliography."--Jacket.