Venue:
Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Curator:
Luca Massimo Barbero.

Artist:
Adolph Gottlieb.

Exhibition description:
This exhibition surveys the work of the American artist Adolph Gottlieb (1903-1974): from his initial paintings of Surrealist and Cubist influence, to his expressionist and abstract works. This provides an understanding of how Adolph Gottlieb’s work evolved, and of how his work was an integral element within the development of American Abstract Expressionism in New York in the 1950s. The popularity of Gottlieb derives from his invention of a visual language, more basic and universal than written language, purged of symbols with historical precedents. In 1941 Gottlieb achieved this with his Pictographs, images of what appear to be archaic symbols organised in irregular grids. As Gottlieb’s career developed so did his artistic style. He believed that “different times require different images.” As a result, once Gottlieb felt he had exhausted the idea of the Pictograph he continued to develop new and novel compositions. These featured Imaginary Landscapes, compositions split into two zones, with celestial bodies in the upper part and an imaginary, vigorously brushed, landscape below, and later his famous Bursts. The Bursts demonstrate a continuing compositional development, where the lower part of the Imaginary Landscapes had detached itself from the picture edges to become an independent floating form with vertically oriented structures. These works are symbols of cosmic and universal notions, as well as uniquely aesthetic values. Gottlieb wanted the viewer to draw upon their own emotional responses to interpret his work. The show includes sketches, prints and sculptures.

Partnerships:
Organized in partnership with the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, New York.

Catalogue:
Barbero, Luca Massimo. Adolph Gottlieb. A Retrospective. Milan: Giunti Arte Mostre Musei s. r. l., 2010.

Two catalogues, in English and Italian. Catalogues include prefaces by Richard Armstrong (Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum) and Philip Rylands (Director, Peggy Guggenheim Collection), Sanford Hirsch (Executive Director, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation), Elizabeth Glassman (President and CEO, Terra Foundation for American Art), and On. Marino Zorzato (Vice President – Councilor for Culture, Regione del Veneto), and essays by Luca Massimo Barbero and Pepe Karmel. Catalogues contain exhibition plates and a chronology.

Library Location: GUGG PGC 2010.05 (English), UFFICIO 26 0011 (Italian).