The Great Innovator of Contemporary Painting: Pat Steir at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood
‘The first time I went to LA to teach at CalArts in the 1970s, I remember thinking that the city had endless roads, many, many cars, no place to walk, and shockingly bright sunlight. I saw blue skies and ocean.’ ~ Pat Steir
contemporary art
Pinted Rain #2, Pat Steir Photo: Hauser & Wirth
In the vibrant landscape of Los Angeles, where artistic innovation thrives, the illustrious American artist Pat Steir is poised to unveil a remarkable collection of paintings in her first solo exhibition in the city in over three decades. Entitled "Painted Rain," this eagerly anticipated showcase will grace the esteemed halls of Hauser & Wirth's West Hollywood enclave starting February 28th. Steir's latest creations are an ode to her memories of Los Angeles, particularly her profound encounters with the ocean and sky during her tenure at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the 1970s.
With an expert fusion of conceptual art, figuration, and abstraction, Steir embarks on a mesmerizing exploration of the color blue in this new series. Vivid hues interplay with resonant tones, conjuring captivating optical illusions through Steir's signature techniques of streaming, pouring, and layering. These luminous compositions, a testament to Steir's enduring ingenuity, echo her renowned Waterfall series, where she relinquishes control to the paint itself, yielding expressive and evocative results.
Pinted Rain #3, Pat Steir Photo: Hauser & Wirth
As visitors traverse the skylit expanse of Hauser & Wirth's gallery, they'll find themselves enveloped in a torrential current of color and energy. Each canvas contributes to this dynamic flow, with aqueous pigments cascading in rivulets, forming a visual symphony of lines and curves that draw the eye inexorably inward. Steir's meticulous process, rooted in the verdaccio underpainting technique of the Italian Renaissance, imbues her works with a luminous glow, while delicate chalk grids provide a subtle framework for her compositions.
In pieces like "Painted Rain #2" and "Friday Circus," Steir's deft brushstrokes and precise pours converge to create breathtaking tableaus that blur the boundaries between representation and abstraction. Yet it is perhaps in "Blue" where Steir's mastery is most palpable. Here, swathes of azure hues meld with cascading white, evoking the ethereal vastness of the sky. Through a delicate balance of control and spontaneity, Steir conjures an atmosphere that is at once familiar and transcendent.
Exhibition space at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood, featuring the mesmerizing artworks of renowned artist Pat Steir. Photo: Hauser & Wirth
In conjunction with the exhibition, Steir has collaborated with Trina Basu, a celebrated New York-based violinist, composer, and improviser, to craft a durational soundscape that will complement and enrich the viewer's experience of her paintings. This innovative programming underscores Steir's boundless creative vision, inviting audiences to immerse themselves fully in the symbiotic interplay of sight and sound.
For those eager to witness this extraordinary convergence of art and music, "Painted Rain" will be on display at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood from February 28th to May 4th, 2024. Don't miss this rare opportunity to encounter the work of one of contemporary art's most visionary practitioners.
‘The first time I went to LA to teach at CalArts in the 1970s, I remember thinking that the city had endless roads, many, many cars, no place to walk, and shockingly bright sunlight. I saw blue skies and ocean. I was used to New York light, to seeing all colors muted by a gray screen. CalArts gave me a wonderful studio to use. It had a large window the size of a wall. The light was so bright and saturated I couldn’t see the paint colors I mixed. To counteract this light, I made black paintings with rainbows and color scales outside the picture field. That was 50 years ago. When I think of LA now, I think of the sky and the ocean even more than the light, and that’s the origin of my latest work.’ ~Pat Steir
Pat Steir. Painted Rain
28 February – 4 May 2024
Hauser & Wirth
West Hollywood
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