When artists pull at polarities, they activate the pictorial surface, reshaping the creative process. The push and pull between the polarizing optics of black and white, the dichotomy between active gesture and flat ground, and the explicit contrast between tactile surfaces and crystalline flatness are hallmarks of much postwar and contemporary art. The tension that arises from this interplay carries the work to new realms. Exemplified by the paintings and sculpture in this exhibition, these seemingly opposing aesthetic approaches, rather than working against each other, act in concert to energize modern art.

Artists:
Norman Bluhm
Lisa Bradley
James Brooks
Giorgio Cavallon
Jimmy Ernst
Helen Frankenthaler
Michael Goldberg
Hans Hofmann
Franz Kline
Willem de Kooning
Conrad Marca-Relli
Michael Michaeledes
Robert Motherwell
Louise Nevelson
Richard Pousette-Dart
George Segal
Sal Sirugo
Theodoros Stamos
Hedda Sterne
Jack Tworkov
Karina Wisniewska

Pulling at Polarities - May 10 through June 16, 2012

Reception: 
Thursday, May 17, 5:30-7:30 pm
RSVP acceptances only 212-628-4000