Works on Paper: From Marin to Mehretu

Press Release

CHICAGO, Illinois—This Spring, KN Gallery is pleased to present a selection of exceptional works by modern and contemporary American masters with a special focus on works on paper, from early twentieth-century modernist John Marin to twenty-first century contemporary phenom Julie Mehretu.  Works on paper—be they watercolor paintings, ink drawings, crayon compositions, or collage combines—often reflect an artist’s experimental vision and exploration of new ideas as seen in Hans Hofmann’s Provincetown ink drawings and crayons. They also convey an artist’s most refined vision and complete visual idea as seen in the watercolors of John Marin, who employed the medium of watercolor as his primary and preferred method of artistic expression. Works on Paper: From Marin to Mehretu features a variety of artists including Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Jim Dine, Wayne Thiebaud, Keith Haring, and the Zhou Brothers. KN Gallery’s exhibition of works on paper will be on view from 8 May–5 July.

Among the many works in this exhibition are a few rare gems and historically significant pieces by Marin, Hofmann, and Kline. Distinguished as the premier twentieth-century American watercolorist, John Marin employed this fluid medium to depict a serene yet quasi-Cubist and thoroughly modern interpretation of Lake George. During the summer of 1928, Marin visited his close friends Alfred Stieglitz and his wife Georgia O’Keeffe at their home on Lake George in upstate New York. One of only eight watercolors Marin made during his visit, Lake George is a stunning example of his fluid handling and superlative control of watercolor. This rare and remarkable painting captures the ripple of the water with calligraphic expression and the irregular mountain forms with a Cubist-inspired style, all presented within Marin’s characteristic frame-within-a-frame composition. Marin animates Stieglitz’s upstate retreat with a lively concert of swift and expressive brushwork as well with his harmonious balance of midnight blue, blue-gray and gold and yellow hues that represent the soothing yet rugged vitality of Lake George.

Equally noteworthy are Hans Hofmann’s two watercolors Composition I and Composition III from 1941. These unique works on paper are a rare prelude to Hofmann’s most renowned late slab composition style. This pair of compositions is presented along with a selection of ink drawings and vibrant crayons—a synthesis of Fauvist colors and Cubist structure—that Hofmann made during his summers in Provincetown during the 1930s and 1940s.

Franz Kline’s Study for Slate Cross (1961) is an equally remarkable treasure in gouache and a preparatory work for the large-scale painting now in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art. Recognized as one of the leading Abstract Expressionist painters, Kline’s signature black-and-white calligraphic abstractions are a mixture of gestural spontaneity and studied execution.  Both the study in gouache and his final masterpiece oil exhibit Kline’s hallmark architectonic abstract style. Dallas Museum curator Suzanne Weaver identified Slate Cross as “a commanding masterpiece of Kline’s mature style,” and noted its emotional energy, describing it as “a compelling dramatic space reminiscent of the gritty energy of the New York streets he loved.” [Suzanne Weaver, “Franz Kline: Slate Cross,” Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 274.]. The excitement of tumultuous postwar America is further echoed in Kline’s petit but powerful collage Black, White, Brown (1959-60), also on view.

Iconoclast Robert Rauschenberg is one of the leading postwar artists, and his use of unorthodox and discarded materials is manifest in the bedsheet-size wall hanging Hoarfrost (Keeper), an experimental print on muslin and silk fabric from a series of 150 works he completed in the mid-1970s. The transfer prints from the front page of The New York Times of the American flag and Nixon are faint and delicate and overlay bits and pieces of actual newspaper to form a composition that alludes to the anxiety and unrest that fueled American culture in the early 1970s. The playful works by Wayne Thiebaud (Large Sucker, 1970) and Jim Dine  (Double Hearts VI, 1971) also contribute to the cultural context of the 1970s.

KN Gallery’s installation of works on paper ends with an engaging experiment in watercolor, Untitled (2007), by Julie Mehretu. Mehretu draws on the visual vocabulary of architectural drawings, urban planning grids and topography, and maps, which she deconstructs to create swirling vortexes and to explore issues of social organization, globalization, migration, and the built environment. Drawing is central to her work as she invents what she calls “story maps of no location.”

In addition to works on paper, KN Gallery will also present a small sampling of oil paintings by Richard Bogart and Esteban Vicente, and Joseph Cornell boxes. KN Gallery’s Spring Selections will be on view from 8 May through 5 July.   

ABOUT KN GALLERY
Located in the world-renowned John Hancock Center on Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile,” KN Gallery celebrates the very best in modern, post-war and contemporary American and European art and offers guests a true museum-quality experience. Run by noted art expert Lara Niemira, KN Gallery is dedicated to showcasing outstanding, critically acclaimed exhibitions that contribute to the study and understanding of 20th century and contemporary art. KN Gallery welcomes collaborations with artists, private collectors, and other museums and institutions for loans of works and special projects.

KN Gallery is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. For more information about KN Gallery, please call 312-640-5550 or visit www.kngallery.com.

Press Contacts for Media and Image Inquiries
Leah Eisenstein | The Experiential Agency | 312.239.2339 | leah@expagency.com
Kim Crompton | The Experiential Agency | 312.239.2344 | kim@expagency.com