ART-PRESENTATION: Kenneth Noland-Flares

Kenneth Noland emerged in the wake of the first generation of the New York School. Interested in breaking away from the prevailing aesthetic of Abstract Expressionism in the ‘50s and ‘60s, he began to experiment with geometric shapes, these evolving into a new kind of picture, where large areas of color were more dominant than any particular shape, which would give their name to Color Field painting, the dominant school of American abstraction after Jackson Pollock.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

Kenneth Noland attended Black Mountain College in the mid-1940s after serving in the US Air Force during World War II. There he learned about Neoplasticism, Bauhaus theories, and the work of Paul Klee, thus developing an early interest in the emotional effects of color and geometric forms. In the 1950s, while living in Washington DC, Noland frequently traveled to New York to meet with Clement Greenberg, who introduced him to Abstract Expressionism as well as the stained paintings of Helen Frankenthaler. These encounters sparked an experimental period, during which Noland developed a new genre of abstraction known as Color Field. The exhibition “Flares” at Pace Gallery spotlighting Kenneth Noland’s homonymous series. Regarded as one of the foremost American Color Field painters, Noland began making his “Flare” series in California in the early 1990s and the works have rarely been presented together since then. Of approximately 15 works featured in the exhibition, a number were conceived and largely produced while Noland spent time in Santa Barbara, where he was continuously inspired by nature and the changing light and colors of the West Coast landscape that surrounded him. In the late 1950s, Noland broke with Abstract Expressionism’s gestural aesthetic, becoming one of the pioneers of Color Field painting and the Washington Color School. During this time he began staining unprimed canvas first with Magna and then acrylic paint and producing paintings with stark geometric shapes and bold color contrasts. Innovative series, such as his Circle or Chevron works, were systematic yet intuitive investigations of painting’s visual elements, especially color and shape. Eminent critics and artists soon lauded Noland’s work, noting his role as a primary force in the development of abstract art. Noland’s command over his medium only grew in the following decades. The artist used color as density and weight, covering entire canvases (which were often shaped irregularly) in order to imbue as much color as possible into any given work. The “Flares” series represent a new direction in Noland’s work, while concurrently encapsulating experiences and concerns that had motivated the artist for decades. One of the series’ chief innovations is their use of colorful plexiglass strips. Wedged between the irregularly shaped panels of each work, these glossy bands activate a complex interplay among color, materiality, and form. To Noland, the Flares were “constructed pictures” with “separate component parts”. This assembled nature relates them to both collage and sculpture, generating new possibilities. Noland further enhanced the objecthood of the “Flares” by applying paint or plexiglass to the sides in colors that do not match their frontal surfaces, emphasizing volume and mass. The three dimensionality of these paintings distinguishes them among Noland’s broader body of work while also hinting at the artist’s lesser known but seriously pursued sculptural practice.

Photo: Kenneth Noland, Flares: A Secret, 1990, acrylic on canvas on panel with Plexiglas, 27-1/2″ × 39-3/4″ × 2″ (69.9 cm × 101 cm × 5.1 cm) © The Kenneth Noland Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Info: Pace Gallery, 229 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, Duration: 17/1-27/2/2021, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 12:00-17:00 (open by advance appointment only), www.pacegallery.com