Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A number of Robert Motherwell's most important early works were collage-paintings, beginning with his first effort in the spring of 1943, -Pierrot's Hat, - made while working alongside Jackson Pollock in the latter's studio. -I took to collage like a duck to water, - Motherwell later reflected, and he continued to -play with papers- for the rest of his life, esteeming his skill in the medium as one of his -chief gifts.- Collage also helped the artist reconcile his relationship to European modernism (particularly Surrealism) on the one hand, and American Abstract Expressionism on the other. Reproducing a concise selection of collages from throughout the artist's career in full color, this volume also includes a series of -case studies- on individual collages and broader essays by critic Mel Gooding that examine their composition, palette and literary allusions, and Motherwell's unique position bridging Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism.