While Lee Krasner may be more well-known for being the wife of American Abstract Expressionism pioneer Jackson Pollock, I didn’t learn about their relationship until after I fell in love with her abstracts.
Maybe if I had graduated from art school rather than getting degrees in psychology or had a better memory of Pollock (note to self: consider watching Pollock again), I would have picked up on it earlier.
As it were, I was given the luxury of seeing her work through my own eyes, without the blinders of her famous husband.
The first time I remember seeing Lee Krasner’s work in person was at the inaugural exhibition at the new location of the Whitney Museum of American Art, America is Hard to See. I planted myself in front of The Seasons, a huge, beautiful oil painting that the artist completed in 1957, and studied it for as long as I could handle the opening weekend crowd.
The painting that I’m featuring today is Vernal Yellow (Spring Yellow), an oil and collage piece that Krasner completed in 1980. The piece was born from her own cut-up discarded drawings. As an artist who hoards torn or cut pieces of paintings, patterns, and sketches, I’m obviously curious about her process. I hope to learn more about it when I start reading Gail Levin’s 2012 book Lee Krasner: A Biography. I just put it on hold at the library and I can’t wait to get it!
Vernal Yellow was on display at Museum Ludwig during the summer of 2015 when I visited Cologne, Germany. The oil and collage painting is part of their permanent collection. I spent a lot of time at the museum that day and it wasn’t nearly as crowded as opening weekend of the new Whitney, so I was able to spend more time studying her work close up.
I love the rich palette and bold marks of Vernal Yellow. There’s so much movement and feeling.
Speaking of feeling, seeing large abstract works like these make me crave my own studio space even more. I’m hoping that 2018 is the year that I’m able to spread out from my home studio and find a (reasonably priced) art studio. One that will easily house my big canvases and allow me to leave my materials out in the open, just waiting for me to return to them.
Thanks in advance, Universe! xoxo
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