Contributed by Sharon Butler / Here’s a quote and some images by Philip Guston: “I do not see why the loss of faith in the known image and symbol in our time should be celebrated as a freedom. It is a loss from which we suffer, and this pathos motivates modern painting and poetry at its heart.” These paintings, made during a difficult phase that lasted from 1957 through 1967, are on view at Hauser & Wirth through July. Although in past assessments of his oeuvre, the period was widely considered transitional and the paintings less accomplished, these are among the best Gustons I’ve seen. Of course, I’m a big fan of the irresolute. Don’t miss the show.
[Image at top: Philip Guston, Painter III, 1963, oil on canvas, 66 x 79 inches. Private Collection, London.]
Philip Guston, Fable II, 1957, oil on illustration board, 24 5/8 x 35 7/8 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston,� Actor, 1958, gouache on paper, 23 1/4 x 29 1/4 inches. Private Collection.
Philip Guston, Untitled, 1962, oil on canvas, 66 x 73 inches.
Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Purchase with funds from the lottery fund of the
canton of Zurich 1993, inv. no.1565.
�Philip Guston, Untitled, 1958, oil on canvas, 64 1/8 x 75 1/4 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Alchemist, 1960, oil on canvas, 61 x 67 3/8 inches. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Mari and James A. Michener, 1968
Photo credit: Milli Apelgren.
�Philip Guston,� Vessel, 1960, oil on panel, 30 1/8 x 21 7/8 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Group II, 1964, oil on canvas, 65 1/8 x 79 1/8 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, The Year, 1964, oil on canvas, 78 x 107 1/2 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Position I, 1965, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Portrait I, 1965, oil on canvas, 68 3/8 x 78 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Untitled, 1967, brush and ink on paper,18 1/8 x 23 1/8 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Leaf, 1967, charcoal on paper, 18 x 23 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Last Piece, 1958, gouache on illustration board, 22 x 30 inches. The Museum of Modern Art, New York NY. Gift of Edward R. Broida, 2005
�Philip Guston, Path II, 1960, oil on canvas, 62 1/2 x 71 1/2 inches. Private Collection.
�Philip Guston, Inhabiter, 1965, oil on canvas, 76 1/8 x 79 1/4 inches. The Museum of Modern Art, New York NY. Gift of Edward R. Broida, 2005.
“Philip Guston 1957 -1967, ” Hauser & Wirth, Chelsea, New York, NY. Through� July 29, 2016.
Related posts:
Philip Guston’s stories
Guston’s paint still looks wet
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