Timothy Taylor Gallery presents an exhibition of works by Agnes Martin (1912-2004), one of America’s foremost abstract painters. The exhibition features significant paintings and works on paper, and traces a singular career that spanned over five decades. Open 21 April – 21 May 2010.
Although frequently labelled as a Minimalist and closely affiliated with artists such as Donald Judd and Carl Andre, Martin always described herself as an Abstract Expressionist. As a young artist in New York during the 1950s, the influences of Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman proved particularly important to Martin. She similarly rejected recognisable forms, and strived to represent infinite space in a quest for the sublime.
Where the Minimalists used squares in their grids in their compositions Martin chose rectangles, preferring their comparatively relaxed, non-aggressive, human characteristics. Famously claiming that she ‘painted with her back to world’, Martin refused to acknowledge the impact of any given environment upon her work. Nonetheless, the landscape of New Mexico is effectively conjured in the shimmering horizontal bands of ochres, pinks and myriad blues Martin began using following her move South in the 1970s.
Since her first solo exhibition in 1958, Martin has been the subject of over 80 exhibitions, including in recent years Agnes Martin: The Nineties and Beyond, The Menil Collection, Houston (2002); Agnes Martin: Paintings and Drawings 1974-1990, organised by the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, with subsequent venues in France and Germany (1991-92); Agnes Martin, organised by Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, travelling to Milwaukee, Miami, Houston and Madrid (1992-94). In June 2002, The Harwood Museum of Art at the University of New Mexico, Taos, organised Agnes Martin Paintings from 2001, honouring Martin on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Previous group exhibitions include Documenta, Kassel, Germany (1972), the Venice Biennale (1976, 1980, 1997), and the Whitney Museum of American Art Biennial (1977, 1995). Agnes Martin died in Taos, New Mexico in 2004.
Timothy Taylor Gallery
15 CARLOS PLACE, LONDON, W1K 2EX
T: +44 (0)20 7409 3344 F: +44 (0)20 7409 1316
www.timothytaylorgallery.com
Image: Agnes Martin, Untitled # 12, 1997. Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 60 x 60 in. Photo: Timothy Taylor Gallery, London
