Abstract Expressionist New York
Willem de Kooning: Woman I, 1950-1952, oil on canvas, 192.7 x 147.3 cm, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
May 28 – September 4, 2011
Opening: Saturday, May 27
ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO
317 Dundas Street West,
Toronto, ON M5T 1G4
T:416-979-6648
www.ago.net
Hours: Tue & Thurs – Sun 10 – 5:30, Wed 10 – 8:30
Jackson Pollock. Mark Rothko. Robert Motherwell. Joan Mitchell. Franz Kline. Lee Krasner. Willem de Kooning. These are just a few of the legendary 20th-century artists whose artwork is now on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in an unprecedented international exclusive. Abstract Expressionist New York: Masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art, and on view until September 4, features more than 100 works from the unparalleled collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) by the legendary artists whose drips, splatters, and fields of incredible colour catapulted New York to the centre of the international art world in the 1950s and changed the course of art history forever.
“We are delighted to be able to share this exhibition with the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Museum of Modern Art has long and deep ties with the AGO, and I, of course, have a very personal one, and I can think of no better exhibition than Abstract Expressionist New York to reaffirm our admiration for what the AGO has achieved over the years, and especially since its reopening in 2008,” says Glenn Lowry, Director of MoMA. “These masterworks reflect MoMA’s preeminent collection of Abstract Expressionism, and include not only the most important and well-known works, but also key works by lesser-known artists such as Norman Lewis and William Baziotes. Taken together they provide an extraordinary overview of Abstract Expressionism in New York and a unique insight into one of the most important American art movements of the 20th century.”
Abstract Expressionist New York is drawn entirely from MoMA’s collection of works by the pioneers of Abstract Expressionism, from its beginnings in the 1940s through its zenith in the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition features works across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawings, and photographs, including 12 era-defining works by Pollock, and multiple works by Rothko, Motherwell, de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Barnett Newman, Louise Bourgeois, Philip Guston, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, David Smith, and others.
Abstract Expressionist New York was organized by the curatorial team of Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture; Jodi Hauptman, curator, department of drawings; Sarah Suzuki, The Sue and Eugene Mercy, Jr. Assistant Curator of Prints and Illustrated Books; Sarah Meister, curator, department of photography; Michelle Elligott, museum archivist; Anne Morra, associate curator, and Sally Berger, assistant curator, department of film; and Paulina Pobocha, curatorial assistant, department of painting and sculpture. The AGO’s presentation, curated by former AGO curator of modern and contemporary art David Moos, draws works from MoMA’s wide-ranging presentation, with a focus on the masterworks that epitomize the pivotal moment in modern art history.
National Bank and Metropia are supporting sponsors of Abstract Expressionist New York.