Despite the growing popularity of artists’ collectives, collaborative work and the social nature of viewing and talking about art, the making of art remains a decidedly individual pursuit. It’s a solo game. So it’s only natural for museums and galleries to present solo exhibitions and retrospectives.
Golden Brown, 1943-44 Oil on canvas, 43 5/8″ x 55 5/8″ University purchase, Bixby Fund, 1953
Two of Southern California’s largest art institutions are currently hosting extensive retrospectives of two titans in contemporary art. In downtown Los Angeles, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is showcasing “Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective” through Sept. 20, while along Miracle Mile, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is featuring “John Baldessari: Pure Beauty” through Sept. 12.
The Gorky show at MOCA is perhaps the rarer one, since it’s the first full-scale survey of the Armenian American’s artwork since 1981. The exhibit offers more than 120 works, including paintings, drawings and a handful of sculptures. Some of these pieces are on public display for the first time.
Born Vostanik Manoog Adoyan in Khorkom, Armenia, Gorky was an important early abstractionist, and his work influenced American art for decades. He was also influenced by the giants in modern art. One can certainly see the connections between Gorky and Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Joan Miró, Wifredo Lam and Hans Hofmann.
The show is arranged chronologically, from his early years to his final works. His paintings from the 1920s are obviously influenced by Cézanne, sharing the same attention to geometry, shade and texture. Between the late 1920s and early 1930s, cubism is clearly a guiding principle, in works such as “Still Life” (1930-31) and “Blue Figure in a Chair” (circa 1931).
We can see Gorky begin to develop his own individual style in the “Nighttime, Enigma and Nostalgia” graphite and ink series (1931-32) and in his large, haunting oil portraits “The Artist and His Mother” (1926-36) and “The Artist and His Mother” (c. 1926-42).
Gorky noticeably matured in the late 1930s to early 1940s, with paintings such as “Enigmatic Combat” (1936-37) and “Painting” (1936-37). These works are tightly composed, yet colorful and clearly delineated.
As the 1940s progressed, Gorky’s work got looser and more abstract. Many paintings from this period share characteristics with Spanish/Catalan painter Miró. But he also crystallized a signature style – one that put him on the map – with works such as “The Liver is the Cock’s Comb,” a 1944 oil on canvas, considered his most important painting; and “Betrothal I,” a 1947 oil on paper that recalls a traditional Armenian wedding, according to Gorky’s own notes.
Gorky committed suicide in July 1948 at about the age of 46. (Records of his exact birth date vary.) But the MOCA show is a tribute to his life, creative spirit and impressive accomplishments.
