In response to unthinkable atrocities—the Holocaust, vast casualties on the battlefields of World War II, the atomic bomb—many artists felt a grave responsibility to make art that reasserted the highest ideals of humankind. For painters Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, this meant rejecting the easel-sized canvas to work at a larger scale, the size of the works reflecting their grand ambitions. Newman said, “I hope that my own painting has the impact of giving someone as it did me the feeling of his own totality, of his own separateness, of his own individuality, and at the same time his connection to others.” Louise Nevelson’s work is connected to place: she drew materials from New York’s streets and assembled them into totemic structures of varying scale that she painted in monochrome palettes of black, white, or gold. For all these artists, color was an essential expressive tool, capable of evoking a range of responses.
Collection 1940s–1970s
404
Planes of Color
404
Planes of Color
- MoMA, Floor 4, 404 The David Geffen Galleries
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Vasudeo S. Gaitonde Painting, 4 1962 -
Louise Nevelson Hanging Column (from Dawn's Wedding Feast) 1959 -
Louise Nevelson Hanging Column (from Dawn's Wedding Feast) 1959 -
Barnett Newman Abraham 1949 -
Barnett Newman Vir Heroicus Sublimis 1950-51 -
Ad Reinhardt Number 107 1950 -
Mark Rothko No. 10 1950 -
Mark Rothko No. 5/No. 22 1950 (dated on reverse 1949)
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UNIQLO ArtSpeaksSean Yetter on Barnett Newman’s Vir Heroicus Sublimis
A skeptical eye is won over by the “momentous simplicity” of Newman’s outsized painting.Sep 10, 2021 -
UNIQLO ArtSpeaksCara Manes on Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s Painting, 4
A curator finds a contemplative space in Gaitonde’s Zen Buddhism–inspired painting.Jul 30, 2021 -
Installation images
7 images
Artists
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Vasudeo S. Gaitonde
Indian, 1924–20012 exhibitions, 1 work online -
Louise Nevelson
American, born Ukraine. 1899–198838 exhibitions, 62 works online -
Barnett Newman
American, 1905–197048 exhibitions, 61 works online -
Ad Reinhardt
American, 1913–196740 exhibitions, 29 works online -
Mark Rothko
American, born Russia (now Latvia). 1903–197052 exhibitions, 19 works online
Installation images
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