.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
As one of the youngest Abstract Expressionists in the New York School, Richard Pousette-Dart created a prolific portfolio which spanned from drawing and printmaking to sculpture, painting and photography. Regardless of medium, Pousette-Dart’s works are invigorated with biomorphic symbols that connect his spiritual beliefs and the importance of one’s individual artistic abilities. Painting, according to the artist, is “a dynamic balance and wholeness of life; it is mysterious and transcendent, yet solid and real” (R. Pousette-Dart, quoted in K. Hubner, "Richard Pousette-Dart's Early Work and its Origins," Richard Pousette-Dart, exh. cat., The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, 2007, p. 21).
A masterpiece of color and abstraction, By the River is a pristine example of the artist’s painting philosophy. In order to fully grasp the beauty of the work, the viewer must stand before it, first from afar, then up close to meditate upon each brushstroke. What soon emergers is a harmony in the layers of impasto that weave together to form a sky sprinkled with blue and red hues. While abstract, the curvilinear yellow brushstrokes to the left of the composition suggest a radiant sun, like a mystical glow emerging from the canvas. As suggested by the title and these painterly strokes, viewers can imagine their own image of a picturesque scene, where light and foliage reflect undulating forms and colors off the water’s surface.
By the River is unique in that it appears as a bridge between Pousette-Dart’s earlier works inspired by totemic symbols and later works that focused on light and space. Here, we catch a glimpse of both through curved white lines and occasional hints of white circles that harken back to the artist’s works of the 1940s and 50s. However, it is clear that Pousette-Dart’s shifted emphasis in the 60s and 70s was on layering paint to create delicate scenes of nature. Paired with the work’s substantial scale, By the River is an all-encompassing masterpiece, forging an entrance into the kaleidoscopic mind of Pousette-Dart.
A masterpiece of color and abstraction, By the River is a pristine example of the artist’s painting philosophy. In order to fully grasp the beauty of the work, the viewer must stand before it, first from afar, then up close to meditate upon each brushstroke. What soon emergers is a harmony in the layers of impasto that weave together to form a sky sprinkled with blue and red hues. While abstract, the curvilinear yellow brushstrokes to the left of the composition suggest a radiant sun, like a mystical glow emerging from the canvas. As suggested by the title and these painterly strokes, viewers can imagine their own image of a picturesque scene, where light and foliage reflect undulating forms and colors off the water’s surface.
By the River is unique in that it appears as a bridge between Pousette-Dart’s earlier works inspired by totemic symbols and later works that focused on light and space. Here, we catch a glimpse of both through curved white lines and occasional hints of white circles that harken back to the artist’s works of the 1940s and 50s. However, it is clear that Pousette-Dart’s shifted emphasis in the 60s and 70s was on layering paint to create delicate scenes of nature. Paired with the work’s substantial scale, By the River is an all-encompassing masterpiece, forging an entrance into the kaleidoscopic mind of Pousette-Dart.