This survey, on view through May 26, is the first full-scale examination of the sources, meaning and impact of the Color Field movement.
Free Public Programs
"New Materials, Aging Art"
Saturday, March 29; 3 p.m.
Mark Golden of Golden Artist Colors Inc. and Mark Gottsegen of the Art Materials Information and Education Network of the Intermuseum Conservation Association discuss challenges artists face with new materials. This illustrated dialogue looks at how the use of new artists' materials affects the process of art-making and the life of the work of art. This program is presented by the Lunder Conservation Center.
"Color as Field" Gallery Talk
Wednesday, April 2; 5:30 p.m.
The James Dicke Curator of Contemporary Art Joanna Marsh discusses the Color Field movement—from the development of new color techniques and materials to the historical significance of the artists who used them—in the exhibition galleries.
"Color as 'Cool': After Abstract Expressionism"
Saturday, May 3; 3 p.m.
Half a century ago, in the wake of abstract expressionism, a group of young American painters, including Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski and Larry Poons, developed a new kind of ravishingly beautiful, radically "cool" abstraction based on the evocative power of chromatic relationships. Exhibition curator Karen Wilkin examines the evolution of their innovations, now known as Color Field painting. -- www.si.edu
