Barnett Newman (1905–70) famously strove to create an art of “pure idea” that would strip away narrative, figuration and extraneous detail from painting. By 1948 he had arrived at his signature format--painted color fields bisected by vertical “zips.” Though he is best known for his Abstract Expressionist-cum-minimalist paintings in this vein, Newman also made drawings throughout his career and began making prints in 1961.
Newman’s graphic work clarifies the artist’s long quest to represent his “pure idea” while also revealing an experimental, even playful, side to the artist which is rarely glimpsed in the serious, minimal language of his paintings. Barnett Newman: Drawings and Prints celebrates Newman’s achievements in the graphic arts through the holdings of the Prints Department of the Kunstmuseum Basel, and is the first publication to provide an overview of the artist’s entire print oeuvre.
"Canto VII," December 1963, is reproduced from 'Barnett Newman: Drawings and Prints.'
"Untitled" (1946) is reproduced from Barnett Newman: Drawings and Prints, a beautifully produced new release from Kerber. "As if there were a centrifugal force emanating from the empty abyss, the black-rimmed circle is surrounded by short, expressive brushstrokes," Anita Hildemann writes. "Brenda Richardson had already pointed out in 1979 that on this sheet, the circular void functions like the 'zip' in the painting Onement I of 1948. Namely, the 'zip' separates the color fields on both sides from one another but at the same time binds them together. On the paper, the ink simultaneously disperses in every direction and is yet held together in a circle: expansion and retraction are in balance." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.75 x 10.25 in. / 104 pgs / 72 color / 6 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $61 ISBN: 9783735601827 PUBLISHER: Kerber AVAILABLE: 9/27/2016 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ME
Published by Kerber. Text by Anita Haldemann, Karoline Schliemann.
Barnett Newman (1905–70) famously strove to create an art of “pure idea” that would strip away narrative, figuration and extraneous detail from painting. By 1948 he had arrived at his signature format--painted color fields bisected by vertical “zips.” Though he is best known for his Abstract Expressionist-cum-minimalist paintings in this vein, Newman also made drawings throughout his career and began making prints in 1961.
Newman’s graphic work clarifies the artist’s long quest to represent his “pure idea” while also revealing an experimental, even playful, side to the artist which is rarely glimpsed in the serious, minimal language of his paintings. Barnett Newman: Drawings and Prints celebrates Newman’s achievements in the graphic arts through the holdings of the Prints Department of the Kunstmuseum Basel, and is the first publication to provide an overview of the artist’s entire print oeuvre.
