Beautiful Pousette-Dart show at Luhring Augustine includes paintings and wire sculpture (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Luhring Augustine
531 West 24th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday – Saturday through December 21, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-206-9100
www.luhringaugustine.com
Organized by Christopher Wool and Joanna Pousette-Dart, “Richard Pousette-Dart: East River Studio” comprises painting and wire sculpture produced by the Minnesota-born Abstract Expressionist while living and working in a former brewery on East 56th St., including works that has not been seen by the public since they were originally displayed at the Betty Parsons Gallery more than five decades ago. Wool and the artist’s daughter have hung the show beautifully, giving each piece plenty of room to breathe in the spacious Luhring Augustine gallery, allowing visitors to take their time appreciating the enticing black, white, gray, and yellow palette employed by Pousette-Dart, especially on such exemplary works as “Bridge Horizon,” “Dragon Head,” and the nearly blinding “East River Sun.” Vertical wire sculptures such as “The Woman with a Horn” and “Arc of the Bird” are mounted on pedestals, while “Untitled (The Web)” resembles a framed painting from afar but is actually composed of twisting brown wires and found objects. “I strive to express the spiritual nature of the Universe,” Pousette-Dart explained in 1947. “Painting for me is a dynamic balance and wholeness of life; it is mysterious and transcending, yet solid and real.” All of those elements are on view through December 21 at this delightful show at Luhring Augustine.