Artwork
Grid Seven Saranac
Artist
Thomas Downing
(American, 1928 - 1985)
DepartmentContemporary Art
Date1971
MediumAcrylic on canvas
Dimensions84 x 164 in. (213.4 x 416.6 cm)
Credit LineSan Antonio Museum of Art, gift of C. Thomas Wright
Object number82.176
Copyright© Thomas Downing
DescriptionMonumental abstract painting of four rows of colored circles in an evenly spaced grid-like composition on a neutral ground. From the top of the canvas, the circles alternate between white and medium blue in the first row; white and light brown in the second row; red and yellow in the third row; and dark blue and white in the fourth row.Label TextThrough Thomas Downing’s masterful composition of simple repeated dots on a raw canvas, he elevates color, making it the sole subject and object in his work. With subtle shifts of hue, there is implied depth that alludes to deeper space, without clearly defining it. The pulsing effect of Downing’s color-mediated space relates to the all-over abstractions of Second Generation Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler and Washington Color School painters such as Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. These artists used novel techniques of staining and pouring to create large fields of pigment, thereby freeing color from traditional associations. (Suzanne Weaver, 2020)On view
Collections
Phyllis Ningamara
Culture: Indigenous Australians (Miriwoong language group)
2007
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
