In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
Oct 19, 2022–Mar 5, 2023
In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985 brings together artworks from the Whitney's collection that cross boundaries and upset conventions. Regardless of whether they pour across or sit on the floor, the sculptures included here explore painting’s domain through investigations of color, surface, and optical perception. The paintings, conversely, engage with sculptural concerns by taking up ideas long associated with three-dimensional art, such as balance and objecthood.
The works share many crossover effects, but their greatest affinity is in revealing how artists during this period were persistently questioning how we relate to, react to, and fit into (or are alienated from) physical space. Such queries were top of mind for sculptors associated with movements that flourished at this time, including Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, and feminist art. Similarly, just as many critics were arguing that painting had reached a dead end, painters active in the 1970s and early 1980s asserted the medium’s enduring vitality by pursuing untraditional starting points like shaped canvases, mathematically driven abstract compositions, and other explorations of positive and negative space that called attention to perception.
By commingling elements of painting and sculpture, these works exist beyond established limits of what artists can do and upset the balance of preexisting ideas of what art can be.
This exhibition is organized by Jennie Goldstein, Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Major support for In the Balance: Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985 is provided by the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.
Alma Thomas
6
Alma Thomas derived this abstract composition from observations of nature, both earthly and celestial. As the painting’s title suggests, the artist used the dust storms that occur on the red planet as the inspiration for the all-over composition of Mars Dust. These whirlwinds of iron-rich soil, which can envelop Mars for weeks or months, were first observed at close range during several space missions in 1971 and 1972. Fascinated by television and newspaper reports of these unprecedented images, Thomas decided to render her own version. She used an elastic band to guide the size and spacing of each dappled red brushstroke. The cobalt blue underlayer, visible between strokes, creates a shimmering, otherworldly effect.
Events
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Sun,
Dec 4Weekend Member Mornings
9:30–10:30 am
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Tues,
Nov 15Ask a Curator: In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
7 pm
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Mon,
Oct 17Member Preview Days for In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
10:30 am–6 pm
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Sun,
Oct 16Member Preview Days for In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
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Sat,
Oct 15Member Preview Days for In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
10:30 am–6 pm
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Fri,
Oct 14Member Preview Days for In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985
10:30 am–10 pm
Essay
Audio guides
Hear directly from artists and curators on selected works from the exhibition.
View guide
Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection
View 12 works
In the News
“To tackle chaos but achieve order nonetheless—that’s when balance is beautiful.” —The Wall Street Journal
“The exhibition, an anthology of innovation, is not only enjoyable, it shows the experimental bent of these artists extremely well.” —The Brooklyn Rail