Art review: Jules Olitski's abstract exhibition proves masterful

Courtesy of Ron Schira
An installation view of the Jules Olitski exhibition at the Reading Public Museum.
With all of the information available online, one would think it would be nothing at all to write an article about the renowned painter Jules Olitski. Yet even with as much information as one can gather, it does nothing to satisfy the senses as much as actually being in front of his physical and luminescent abstractions, which for much of his career have been of epic dimensions.

A painting of that size (15 feet or larger) is intended to be seen, and felt, with the body and of course a little distance, but his smaller work draws one closer to a more subtle, personal space. In deference to the smaller works, the Reading Public Museum is showing 36 of his modestly sized paintings through May 5 within the Cohen Modern and Contemporary Gallery. Titled "Jules Olitski: On an Intimate Scale," the exhibit traverses some 50 years of his work and is on temporary loan from the Olitski Family Estate.

The artist passed away from cancer in 2007 at the age of 84 and until then had kept the paintings in his home. The Olitski family, with the assistance of the Luther Brady Gallery of George Washington University, decided to share them at selected venues. The exhibit wraps around the rear wall of the showroom and touches on four of his major artistic periods. Consecutively, they encompass his "Stain" works, his "Spray" works, his "Baroque" period and his "Orbs."

Each piece hovers around 2 feet or less to a side and is arranged chronologically. A video regarding the artist's history and aesthetic is visible nearby and plays nonstop on a loop. Olitski was a process artist, which is fundamentally different from a concept (not conceptual) artist, as a process artist does not know what the artwork is going to look like until it is finished, and a concept artist will have an idea of what he wants to paint before he starts. Each work on his part is pure invention.

In the 1960s, he worked with staining the canvas in order to remove the distinction between painting and the raw canvas. Acrylics such as "Shaker" or "Wildcatter" have simple designs and colors evenly absorbed into the uncoated, unprimed fabric. Later, into the 1970s, he used sprayers to invoke a formless tonality of uniformly distributed yet variable color.

His "Baroque" period of the 1980s and 1990s changed direction to embody heavily laden swirls of pigment suspended in a clear-gel medium. Take, for example, "Shekinah Light" or "Violet Estuary"; the effect is both iridescent and sculptural as the brush strokes resemble the glowing swipes of a mop within modeled waves of monochromatic paint.

Finally, his "Orb" paintings from the 1990s until his death had placed nearly central spheres of weighty pigment on the surface, combined with intense areas of color and a loosely applied painted border that frames the painting.

His associations and friendships have included such artists and luminaries as Anthony Caro, Kenneth Noland and Clement Greenberg. Shown in museums worldwide with more than 150 solo exhibits, he also was selected as one of four artists to represent the United States at the 1966 Venice Biennale. This is the work of a true master of abstract painting. It's a show you don't want to miss.

Contact Ron Schira: