Spray Gun Art from the Swinging Sixties
Through August 9, former faculty member Jules Olitski is highlighted in Spray: Jules Olitski in the 1960s at The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, created as a showcase for the brief but highly regarded chapter when the artist was enthralled by the aesthetic possibilities of sprayed color.
From the Artsfuse.org review:
"The biggest surprise in the show’s introductory section is a spray gun and portable blower that the artist used. It is both ironic and mindboggling to think of such stereotypically macho equipment serving in the creation of refined pictures with exquisitely textured surfaces, which sometimes recall the materiality of ceramic art. A nearby display case includes Olitski’s copy of the brochure for the Chiron Type 51 spraying equipment.
"The exhibition Spray makes a conscientious effort to connect the historic work of Olitski to abstractions made by later generations. In an adjacent gallery the curators have hung midsized paintings by Heather Hutchison (b. 1964), Joseph Marioni (1943-2024), Jane Swavely (b. 1959), and John Zurier (b. 1956). This move demonstrates that many artists continue to practice abstraction as a means to communicate their emotions and responses to the natural world. In a spirit similar to that of Olitski, the four chosen painters invite the viewer to give slow, sustained attention to their devoted explorations of color. The catalogue for Spray illustrates and discusses two works by each of the artists."