FRANZ KLINE (American, 1910-1962). Untitled (Abstract Composition in Green). Oil on canvas. Signed lower right: KLINE...

Description

FRANZ KLINE (American, 1910-1962)
Untitled (Abstract Composition in Green)
Oil on canvas
Signed lower right: KLINE
Monogrammed verso
10 x 8-1/4 inches (25.4 x 21.0 cm)

Franz Kline was an American painter mainly associated with the Abstract Expressionists centered in and around New York during the 1950s.

In the 1940s, however, Kline was particularly interested in the clown as subject matter. He painted a series of paintings of the dancer Nijinsky in the role of Petroushka. Kline identified with clowns, and the tragedy of life, and there was a clear element of self-portraiture in these works. His transition from figurative works into abstraction was also revealed during this period. This work, which appears to be closely associated with the Nijinsky paintings, is toward the end of that transition. The figure, although still somewhat recognizable as a clown, is nearly completely abstracted. His increased interest in the brushwork viewed as abstract texture is more evident here than in the earlier works. He is still using color to differentiate forms in this work, but has reduced the palette to one that is severely monochromatic.


More Information:

Kline met Willem de Kooning in 1943, and de Kooning would become a major influence to the work of Kline.  In 1949, the two painters projected images of small drawings on to the wall, resulting in images so large that the subject was entirely abstracted, and the focus of the newly created composition was the dynamic nature of the lines themselves.  Kline painted in only black and white for a number of years, most likely influenced by this experiment, but eventually re-introduced color into his work.

His work was the subject of a major retrospective in 1968 at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  In 1986, The Cincinnati Art Museum held an exhibition entitled, "The Vital Gesture: Franz Kline in Retrospect."  His work is also held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the National Gallery of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art  in Los Angeles, among others.

More information about FRANZ KLINE. See also: Kline, Franz, Franz Kline Artist.

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