It wasnt a question of deciding to do blackandwhite painting. Published for an exhibition at the menil collection, houston, september 8, 1994 to november 27, 1994. The national gallery of art serves the nation by welcoming all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity. Franz kline black reflections the metropolitan museum. Thirteen years earlier in london, kline had called himself a black and white man but not until this show had the accuracy of this phase become clear to others. Mahoning, a monumental armature of bold black enamel strokes laid against a white background, seems to be a record of franz klines spontaneous gestures. The most common franz kline material is stretched canvas.
There were at least five fakes in the show, he said, and it was not well curated. Learn how franz kline turned small sketches done on the pages of a phone book into large, gestural abstractions. Franz kline black reflections the metropolitan museum of art. Mahoning was based on this small, preliminary drawing that the artist initially made on a page of a telephone. Hosted by dustin hoffman, the film portrays franz kline, best known for his vigorous, largescale black and white abstractions. Franz kline discussing black and white 1960 american. Mahoning by franz kline what makes franz kline a master. Kline s large, gestural, black and white canvases established his reputation in 1951 and became synonymous with his name in the public mind. Klines gestural blackandwhite paintings elicited comparisons to calligraphy.
Oct 23, 2011 franz kline did not like to talk about his big, nearly clumsy, heavily worked abstract paintings, and most of his remarks about his own art amount to attempts to change the subject. Ever since whitney museum conservator matthew skopek saw franz kline s mahoning 1956 as part of a permanent collection exhibition seven years ago, he wanted to restore it. Franz kline untitled study for mahoning whitney museum. Painted at the height of his mature period, intersection is a quintessential example of the rich connotations inherent in kline s compositions, all rooted in the. Conserving mahoning whitney museum of american art. The bold directional marks in this painting also have a strong architectural sense. Previous to this i planned painting compositions with brush and ink using figurative forms and actual objects with color. Franz kline s energetic black strokes on a white field are as recognizable as jackson pollock s drips or mark rothkos rectangles of glowing color. It is sharp and informative and it contains a good deal of new. Black and white with franz kline article on artwizard. Learn how franz kline turned small sketches done on the pages of a phone book into. Franz kline in coal country local and regional history books.
Once he discovered a compelling image through this process. Dec 08, 2015 excerpt from an interview with david sylvester, 1960 franz kline. Quarto approximately 11 inches high by 812 inches wide, softcover bound in pictorial wrappers with a black and white cover illustration reproducing siegfried by franz kline. A belated breakthrough to abstraction in focus tate. His sense of space and insistence on flatness were particularly influenced by japanese art and many of his works have a calligraphic feel. Franz klines energetic black strokes on a white field are.
He subsequently abandoned his figurative art and focused his work on black and white large scale abstract. Since 1949 ive been working mainly in black and white paint or ink on paper. Franz kline was the great master of gestural velocity and muscular compositions rendered in eloquent and powerful counterpoints of paintladen black and white brushstrokes. In addition to merce c, the smithsonian american art museum owns another major black and white kline of 1961, an untitled work. Employing black brushstrokes on white canvases, kline created. Denoting rebellion, the mainly abstract artwork charles surrounds himself with, including the franz kline esque black and white painting in his office, informs me that he and tyler are not that much different at their core. Black reflections, franz kline american, wilkesbarre, pennsylvania 19101962. The works enlarged by kline were debuted in 1950, at the charles egan gallery. Artwork page for meryon, franz kline, 19601 kline began as a figurative painter, but by 1950 was making vigorous, largescale abstract paintings in black and white. Klines work, so apparently spontaneous or impulsive in its emphasis on highly dramatic gestural brushstrokes, is, in fact, carefully considered. Jan 14, 2017 franz kline is considered a giant of mid20th century abstract art.
Franz kline paintings from a private american collection. Franz kline s energetic black strokes on a white field are as recognizable as jackson pollocks drips or mark rothkos rectangles of glowing color. Franz kline and his action painting manner ideelart. Black reflections, an intensely colored small work on paper, may in fact relate to an earlier black and white piece. What if all along we werent meant to interpret hieroglyphics. Black and white 19501961 at the menil collection in houston, which later came to the whitney museum, is similarly. Franz kline 19101962 was one of the defining artistic personalities of abstract expressionism, and like others in this movement. David anfam suggests that kline s vocabulary repeatedly crossed between the abstract and the halfrecognizable d. Kline s work, so apparently spontaneous or impulsive in its emphasis on highly dramatic gestural brushstrokes, is, in fact, carefully considered. The first work in only black and white seemed related to figures, and i titled them as such. Franz kline 19101962 was a leading figure among the abstract expressionists. Gaugh, who selected the show, is the first book length study on the artist. Franz kleine black and white 19501961 anfam, david on.
Black and white 1951 by franz kline is hand painted from abacus gallery by one of our artists using the finest quality canvas and winsor and newton professional. What if they werent symbols, but were simply aesthetic forms meant to be appreciated as art. Franz kline is one of the most familiar american painters. His thick black strokes set into or slashed across white grounds are as deeply etched in the landscape of postwar american art as pollock. Franz kline at sidney janis 1950s exhibition poster, 1958. The black and white work originally contained a remarkable amount of variation in saturation and tone, but as mahoning aged, its vibrancy had dulled, and subtle distinctions in color had become uniform. Franz kline black, white, and gray the metropolitan. He spent years struggling to find a style for himself and then achieved overnight success with his dramatic black and white abstractions.
Franz kline was a renowned american painter, who gained prominence for his works, executed in black and white tones, as well as for his spontaneous, gestural style. The artist may sketch out their ideas on paper, make some changes, then more. This was hailed as the definitive volume on artist kline at its 1985 debut. Feb 25, 2019 the black and white lines command the kind of tension that transforms coal into diamonds, and single works have sold for over forty million dollars. Included in this collection is henry h ii, a painting with a particularly radiant union of reds, oranges, golds, greens and purples. Jan 19, 1986 franz kline is one of the most familiar american painters.
Known for his abstract paintings of bold interlocking forms in black and white paint, franz kline made many drawings, using the medium to work out his ideas quickly. Franz klines king oliver from 1958 has the same blackandwhite figurations plus some really great swath. Although the sweeping, gestural strokes of franz kline s signature black and white paintings appear spontaneous, many of his largescale abstractions were carefully adapted from earlier sketches and studies, including the painting entitled mahoning, in the whitneys collection. Jul 01, 2016 blog home franz kline and his action painting manner. Franz kline discussing black and white 1960 american suburb x. Kline began by enlarging a black and white drawing of a rocking chair. Franz kline mahoning whitney museum of american art. Later the results seemed to signify something but difficult to give. See more ideas about black and white, franz kline, abstract expressionist.
I asked stone for his thoughts about the kline retrospective organized in spain in 199495, and his smile turned sour. Franz klines king oliver from 1958 has the same blackandwhite. His broad sweeps of paint and dramatic black and white gestures combine to produce enigmatic forms that evoke the aggressive dynamism of the urban landscape. Also, he was a prominent member of new york school, an informal group of american poets, painters, dancers and musicians active in the 1950s and 1960s in new york city. Although the composition is dominated by dense concentrations of black ink, visible brushstrokes denote movement. Franz kline is most famous for his black and white abstractions, which have been likened variously to new yorks cityscape, the landscape of his childhood home in rural pennsylvania, and japanese calligraphy. In the 1940s, kline developed a distinctive abstract idiom consisting of wide, gestural strokes in black and white. Untitled 1950 synthetic polymer paint on telephone book page. Abstract expressionism learn more franz kline untitled. Dec 12, 2003 around 1956 kline began experimenting with color producing extraordinarily vibrant canvases with the same surface brilliance as his more recognizable black and white canvases.
Abstract expressionist painter franz kline was well known for his black and white paintings. American abstract expressionist franz kline is best known for large black and white paintings bearing abstract motifs set down with strident confidence. Franz kline may 23, 1910 may, 1962, american painter. Abstract expressionist painter, known most notably for his large canvases covered with bold black and white strokes. Because of klines impact and his concrete style, kline was dubbed the black and white artist, a label which stuck with the artist, and which he would occasionally feel restricted by. Kline s gestural black and white paintings elicited comparisons to calligraphy. Using acrylic paints, he produced a complex surface in which white is. I think there was a time when the original forms that finally came out in black and white were in colour and then as time went on i painted them out and make them black and white. Kline s mature works of the 1950s display an astonishing mastery, locking contending forces into architectonic configurations that seem even larger than their actual size, which. When we think of abstract expressionism, we usually think first of dynamic brushwork. A lehighton art gem moves to allentown the morning call.
Largescale black and white compositions of energetic, dramatic gestures in which wide. Franz kline was an american abstract expressionist known for his distinctive monochromatic black and white paintings. Mahoning was based on this small, preliminary drawing that the artist initially made on a page of a telephone book. Kline viewed his gestural painting not as an expression of his emotions but as a means to create a physical form and presence that could be felt by the viewer, and would inspire minimalist sculptors. Employing black brushstrokes on white canvases, kline created specific compositions distinct from the other artists of his generation, pertaining to the new york school. The painting techniques of franz kline video khan academy. He started out as a realist with a fluent style that he perfected during an academic training that encouraged him to admire old masters such as rembrandt. Praised as a second generation abstract expressionist, franz kline was born in wilkesbarre, pennsylvania in 1910.
Oil and pasted paper on paper, mounted on masonite. You instinctively like what you cant do, franz kline said in a 1958 interview. Rare personal interviews with kline s contemporaries explore the iconoclastic spirit of the arti. Franz kline was an american abstract expressionist known for his. Jan 01, 1995 franz kline s works of the 1950s and early 60s are classics of the new york school. The final test of a painting, theirs, mine, any other, is. Franz kline modern art poster, mars black and white, modern art print for modern home decor, franz kline printable wall art, modern art gift galleryartdecor 5 out of 5 stars 49. Franz kline perhaps more than any other art of the period, the paintings of franz kline have come to be regarded as the embodiment of abstract expressionism.
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