Rothko in Britain at Whitechapel Art Gallery on artrepublic.com
Exhibition running from Sep 09 2011
until Feb 26 2012
The Whitechapel Gallery revisits its ground-breaking exhibition of works by Mark Rothko on its 50th anniversary. In 1961 the Whitechapel Gallery held the first solo show of American artist Mark Rothko in Britain. This now iconic exhibition is brought vividly to life through the Gallery’s archives of original photographs and letters from the artist shown alongside Rothko’s painting Light Red Over Black (1957), the first work by Rothko to be bought by a British public collection, and material from other archives never exhibited before. Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) was part of a generation of New York painters whose style became known as Abstract Expressionism. Whitechapel Gallery Director Bryan Robertson (Director 1952 - 69) championed contemporary artists from the US, also showing Jackson Pollock’s work for the first time in the UK in 1958, and exhibiting Robert Rauschenberg in 1964. The Whitechapel Gallery’s 1961 exhibition introduced the work of Mark Rothko to Britain for the first time, and included paintings from 1945 - 60. It was visited by artists including John Hoyland and Roger Scruton and became influential on their work. Rothko reached his mature style in the mid-1950s. From then on, he used muted, deep colours such as dark blues, reds and greens to make luminous rectangles seemingly hover on the surface of the canvas. While realising his Whitechapel Gallery exhibition in London he outlined the height at which he wanted his works to be hung as well as the light levels to create the atmosphere most conducive to his work. All this was done with the intention of giving his saturated colourfields a greater sense of depth and creating an immersive experience for the viewer. Rothko in Britain now presents rarely seen archive material such as letters from the artist and original photographs including installation photographs of the 1961 Whitechapel Gallery exhibition - never seen before in public and lent by the Rothko estate -, shown alongside Rothko’s Light Red Over Black (1957). One rare letter describes Rothko’s warm feeling for England, saying ‘ I feel so in tune with people like Shakespeare and Dickens I often think that they must really have been Russian Jews who emigrated to New York.’ Rothko in Britain now presents rarely seen archive material such as letters from the artist and original photographs including installation photographs of the 1961 Whitechapel Gallery exhibition - never seen before in public and lent by the Rothko estate -, shown alongside Rothko’s Light Red Over Black (1957). One rare letter describes Rothko’s warm feeling for England, saying ‘ I feel so in tune with people like Shakespeare and Dickens I often think that they must really have been Russian Jews who emigrated to New York.’ OPENING HOURS: Tue –Sun: 11.00 – 18.00, Thur: 11.00 – 21.00 Mark Rothko, Light Red Over Black, 1957, Painting, Oil on Canvas, Dimensions: support: 2306 x 1527 x 38 mm, © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko ARS, NY and, DACS, London. Mark Rothko 1961, Whitechapel Gallery, Photograph: Sandra Lousada Installation view, Mark Rothko 1961, Whitechapel Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery Archive Photograph: Edgar Hyman  |
