![[Left] Alice Baber (Charleston, Illinois, 1928 – New York City, 1982), Lavender High, 1968 (left, detail), Oil on canvas, 75 1/2 x 75 1/2 inches, Michener Acquisition Fund, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin; [Right] Alejandro Puente (La Plata, Argentina, 1933–Buenos Aires, Argentina 2013), Estructura (3 panels), 1966 (right), Oil on canvas, 74 13/16 x 63 x 78 3/4 inches, Purchased as a gift of Margaret McDermott in honor of Barbara Duncan, and Judy S. and Charles W. Tate, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin](https://blantonmuseum.org.staging3.juiceboxint.com/app/uploads/2024/11/Expanding-Abstraction-hero-1200x628.jpg)
In the early 20th century, artists began exploring abstract, nonrepresentational forms for the first time and significantly changed the language of painting.
Several decades later, abstraction continued to evolve robustly, as its practitioners experimented with new materials and techniques. Dripping, pouring, staining and even slinging paint became common, as did the use of non-traditional media such as acrylic and industrial paints. Artists also challenged the flat, rectangular format—long the standard in painting—to create texture and dimensionality, blurring the lines between painting and sculpture and foregrounding the object’s materiality. The Blanton’s collection is particularly strong in painting of the 1960s and 70s from both the United States and Latin America. Expanding Abstraction will explore how painting was transformed in these decades. Many of the works are large scale and have rarely been shown before.
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Manuel Hernández-Gómez, “Formas [Forms],” 1969, oil on canvas, 54 3/4 x 54 3/4, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, P1970.9.1
Rogelio Polesello, “Dos diagonals [Two Diagonals],” 1980, acrylic [synthetic polymer] on canvas, 63 3/8 x 63 3/8 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Barbara Duncan, 1991.418
José Antonio Fernández-Muro, “Al gran pueblo argentine…[To the Great Argentine Nation],” 1964, acrylic [synthetic polymer] wash over aluminum foil gilt on canvas, 69 5/16 x 57 1/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin,Gift of John and Barbara Duncan, G1971.3.19
Sam Gilliam, “Pantheon II,” 1983, acrylic [synthetic polymer] on canvas and polyurethane enamel on aluminum, 81 x 54 1/4 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund © 2020 Sam Gilliam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Agustín Fernández, “Armadura, series no. 18 [Armor, series no. 18],” 1973, oil on canvas, 66 5/8 x 55 1/4 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, P1973.11.1
Richard Anuszkiewicz, “Plus Reversed,” 1960, oil on canvas, 74 5/8 x 58 1/4 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Mari and James A. Michener © 2020 Richard Anuszkiewicz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Gloria Klein, “Yellow Dawn,” 1975, acrylic (synthetic polymer) on canvas, 62 x 60 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Buffie Johnson, 1979.21
Charmion von Wiegand, “Offering to the Adi-Buddha, Amoghasiddha,” 1966–1967, oil on canvas, 50 x 27 3/16 in., Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Michener Acquisitions Fund, P1969.19.1
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Credit
Expanding Abstraction: Pushing the Boundaries of Painting in the Americas, 1958–1983 is organized by Carter E. Foster, Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Blanton Museum of Art.
Generous funding for this exhibition is provided by Choongja (Maria) and Stephen Kahng, Peter Kahng, and Jeanne and Michael Klein; with additional support from Suzanne Deal Booth, the Robert Lehman Foundation, and the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation.