Guggenheim Bilbao exhibits the crown jewels of abstract expressionism – The Universal (Venezuela)

Bilbao.- The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao hosts, from today an extensive exhibition on abstract expressionism in which are exhibited some of the “crown jewels” of this phenomenon of painting that dominated the art scene of the united States in the 40′s, 50′s and 60′s of the last century.

The exhibition, entitled “abstract Expressionism” and carried out in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Arts London where they could see the past year, offers some of the masterpieces of its main exponents such as the american Jackson Pollock, David Smith, and Cyfford Still, the Russian Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning.

As highlighted today the commissioners of the exhibition, the british Edith Devaney and the basque Lucia Aguirre, is the first exhibition devoted in Spain to this artistic phenomenon in the past nearly 60 years, and in addition is more complete.

The sample of the Spanish center of the Guggenheim features 130 paintings, sculptures, and photographs of 33 creators linked to or influenced by this phenomenon plastic.

In Europe, added Devaney, the last major exhibition on abstract expressionism, was also at the end of the 50′s, which is why the Royal Academy of Arts of London considered that it was worth doing, in the TWENTY-first century, a new exhibition on this artistic phenomenon, some of whose works reached astronomical figures in the art market of the late TWENTIETH century.

To make it a reality, said the commissioner is british, and were put in contact with different art institutions and american private collectors, who treasure the works of these creators and were able to lend for the occasion.

The most difficult to get was the Museum Clyfford Still in Denver (united States), which houses the works of the painter of the same name and one of the main referents of the phenomenon of painting, whose works had not been provided ever before to leave the united States.

Thanks to its assignment, in Bilbao (north) will be 9 fundamental works of this painter that have never before been contemplated outside of the united States, highlighted Devaney.

in Addition to these nine “loans outstanding” made for this exhibition, he highlighted two other of the same relevance that can be seen in this exhibition, as the work of Jackson Pollock entitled “Male-Female”, 1942-43, courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and “Diary of a seducer” (1945), painter, Armenian, naturalized american Arshile Gorky, the property of the MOMA in New York.

The exhibition has been organized in different halls of the second floor of the museum dedicated each one of them, except the first and the last, each one of the main exponents of this artistic phenomenon, so that the viewer can appreciate clearly the different artistic languages employed by each one of them, ” stressed the commissioner.

The tour starts with a mix of early works of the various authors who later would give life to this considered by critics to be more an artistic phenomenon that a movement in itself.

The exhibition, which has had a high cost, especially in the section of the securing of the parts, by the net asset value of the master-pieces contained in it, has been able to bring to Bilbao thanks to the sponsorship of BBVA, as highlighted in the presentation the director of the exhibition centre, Juan Ignacio Vidarte.

“abstract Expressionism” will remain open at the museum of bilbao to the 4th of June next.