Artist Statement
All of my paintings of the last 10 years are abstract, in that their forms do not refer to nameable objects or events. Yet there is always a suggestion of a covert subject. Many years ago, I said to my friend, the art historian Leo Steinberg, that the most interesting thing about abstract paintings is their subject matter, while the most interesting thing about representational painting is their form.
I tend to work in series of paintings. This exhibition is made from examples from several series.
In 1964, I was invited to make lithographs at the Tamarind Lithographic Workshop, then in LA. My friend, the late Arthur Cohen, a novelist and a theologian, suggested that we collaborate on a series of prints that would illustrate Arthur’s propositions about the relationship of mankind to God. We called it The Negative Way.
Several of the canvases in The Geometry of Faith consist of a sphere bisected into upper and lower halves. After finishing The Geometry of Faith, the motif of the divided sphere stayed in my mind. Without a text to guide our thoughts, the hints of content could resonate freely.
Pythagoras, the Greek Philosopher and Mathematician, believed that the heavenly bodies made sounds as they moved through the sky. I liked his idea. There was a restaurant near our house called “Ruby Red”. I used this as the first title of the new series. Others are Tangerine Tango, Blue Bolero and Shocking Pink Polka. The titles may seem frivolous but the paintings are serious.
The most recent series is united only by size. Some embody small bright spheres in the center of large circular forms. Others suggest windows or doors, opening into a limitless void. Several of these paintings use crosshatched shadings of silver colored pencil to create luminous passages that reinforce hints of extra terrestrial space.