In addition to the relationship between color field painting and Cubism (see article on Cubism), Kenneth Noland’s work also reveals and indebtedness to Piet Mondrian, an exceptional Dutch painter who had himself arrived at abstraction via Cubism. Mondrian's work was based on a grid structure and the simplified color scheme of blue, yellow, red, black and white. In spite of these similarities, however, Noland’s methods differed from Mondrian’s system in his solutions to several fundamental artistic issues.

Mondrian’s concern was with creating balanced asymmetry, whereas Noland focused on the utilization of balanced symmetry. This was especially true in his Circle paintings, which employ the center as a fulcrum, and in the majority of his mature work. When Noland did employ asymmetry, he did not necessarily strive for the more conventional balance that Mondrian achieved.

In Noland’s chevron painting entitled 17th Stage (1964), for example, the tip of the chevron is significantly angled to the left rather than ending in the center of the bottom edge of the painting. The viewer’s sense of imbalance (which must be greatly increased when standing in front of this large, 95” x 83” canvas!) seems to be part of Noland’s optical play.

Noland also availed himself of a wide range of expressive color in contrast with Mondrian’s strict limitation. Mondrian further constrained himself to horizontals and verticals while Noland experimented with curves, spheres, and diagonals. Although Noland’s paintings are categorized as “hard-edged", their edges actually possess numerous irregularities on both a large and small scale.

The splashing effect in the outermost ring of Whirl is a departure from a true "heard edge". More subtle but clearly evident irregularities are present in all of the edges of the chevron bands in 17th Stage. Even the more perfected edges of the circular bands in Noland’s highly controlled works such as Sunshine (1961) still contain perceptible irregularities. Noland’s search is apparently not for the stability and classical balance of Mondrian’s abstract works, but for energetic and lively effects which are masterful in their own right.

SEE Kathleen's ABSTRACT ART HERE

Back to Top

RESOURCES:

Books
Agee, William. Kenneth Noland: The Circle Paintings 1956-1963. Houston: The Museum of Fine Arts, 1993.

Arnason, H.H.. History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography. New York: Abrams, 1986.

Battcock, Gregory, ed. The New Art: A Critical Anthology, rev. ed. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1973.

Chevreul, M.E. The Principals of Harmony and Contrast of Colors and Their Applications to the Arts (1839). Ed. Faber Birren. New York: Reinhold, 1967.

Elderfield, John. Morris Louis. Haarlem, England: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1974.

Hughes, Robert. The Shock of the New. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991.

LeClair, Charles. Color in Contemporary Painting. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1991.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. Art Now: From Abstract Expressionism to Surrealism. New York: William Morrow, 1981.

Lucie-Smith, Edward. Movements in Art Since 1945, rev. ed. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1984.

Rose, Barbara. American Painting: The Twentieth Century, rev. ed. New York: Rizzoli International, 1986.

Rose, Barbara. Frankenthaler. New York: Abrams, 1971.

Selz, Peter. Art In Our Times: A Pictorial History 1890-1980. New York:
Abrams, 1981.

Upright, Diane. Morris Louis: The Complete Paintings. New York: Abrams, 1985.

Waldeman, Diane. Kenneth Noland: A Retrospective. New York: Abrams, 1977.

Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org

Article Use Policy: All content on this web site is protected by international copyright laws for intellectual property and may not be reproduced, used, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission.

Contact the author for permission to reprint articles for your own website, newsletter or other publications. Credit must be given to the author, a copyright notification must be included and a link to http://www.kathleenkarlsen.com.