Guess the Artist (Detroit Institute of Arts) #7!

Easy, right? #ha… if you’re one who thinks painting abstracts is easy, I urge you to give it a try. Working part time in a few galleries in the past, some people who enter the gallery laugh and say “What is that supposed to be” or “I could do that”! Really? Hmmm, because I’ve tried it and let me tell you, it takes a lot of concentration to not end up with a muddy mess. I think colors are super important (or in this artist’s case, simple black and white!) – but so is the movement and the overall feel. We’re all different and like different things. I would hear “I love that painting”, and “I hate that painting, what were they thinking?” in the span of about 12 seconds. Paintings that you think will sell quickly may be the ones that stick around the longest. There is no predicting. It’s all because we’re unique individuals and we like what we like, but – some artists are able to grab the attention of more people.

Whether you love abstracts or not, this artist wasn’t a fly by night individual. They painted their passion – and it shows! Ok, are you up for today’s GUESS THE ARTIST? Do you know who it is?

Information from Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA.ORG):

A N S W E R :

Siskind, 1958

Franz Kline, American, 1910-1962

Oil on canvas

Unframed: 80 × 111 inches (203.2 × 281.9 cm)
81 1/2 × 112 1/2 × 2 3/8 inches (207 × 285.8 × 6 cm)

Founders Society Purchase, W. Hawkins Ferry Fund

Like his friend Willem de Kooning, Kline used abstraction to commemorate specific people, places, or events. Dynamic line and powerful brushstrokes loaded with paint reduce his compositions to a few large forms. Both the white and black areas seem to project from the work with equal force; this dramatic surface tension releases and yet controls the energy of his process. Kline’s dialogue of black and white in Siskind evokes the abstract photographs of Aaron Siskind, his close friend, to whom this work is dedicated.
Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)

DIA WEBSITE | Instagram

Read about Franz Kline HERE, from theartstory.org!