“Kenneth Noland: Unbalanced”

A North Carolina native, Kenneth Noland (1924–2010) was one of the most celebrated artists of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He started as an Abstract Expressionist before embracing Color Field painting and helped to establish Washington Color School in the nation’s capital. He was championed by critic Clement Greenberg, who likewise adopted Color Field abstraction as a cause after husbanding the careers of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman et al. Noland became famous for signatures motifs such as his banded chevrons, targets and stripes. He also ventured into shaped canvases, like the ones presented in this show. Made in the mid-’70s these compositions combine an offbeat palette with a variety of irregularly geometric configurations to shimmering effect.