The exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (Abstract Exhibitionists) was as might be expected an impressive collection which comprises a genre that to my mind age 7 (27) would have meant jack all. The comprehension seems to be an account of a few artists who fit into a territory of the art world that is ladled as future surrealists. I can’t fault the curator’s viewpoint that all these art works represent a movement towards a future that asks questions which can’t be explained, not yet at least. Personally (and remember that as you read this – please) my first impression was it was a collection of rooms. They gave an example of what was ... para 2.. the second was filled with Pollack which a fan would be in awe of and there was a gentle appropriation from his small earlier canvasses to his latter larger ones, not being the greatest fan of JP i thought there was a sense of putting on a front of his earlier works leading up to the big canvases. As a schoolchild i enjoyed the story’s that he smoked (literally leaving stubbs!?) into his canva
ses and the thought of what his studio floor might have been worth intrigued me. Seeing some of these in reality though took my breath away, i would still not call myself a fan and i suppose if i had seen a (p1) individually i would have been disappointed what hadn’t occurred to me though that the larger canvases (p2p5) were also complemented by two glassed framed (intriguingly called p6 p7).
I have perhaps been rude there and it is a reflection perhaps of myself rather than a multi millionaire painter. The next room however did excite me and i came back too it a few times. Rothko’s canvases like clyfford still’s (in the next room) are impressive. Kept together they perhaps make more sense than the two rooms where there is salik and ayers and more – i wont share my obvious disdain for some of their works. How you can summarise a Rothko seems as much
at least he has a sense of humour since he obviously has kept to his material knowledge
Abstract expressionism asks (perhaps the novice)