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Pat Adams - Work from the 1970s and 80s - Exhibitions - Alexandre Gallery

Pat Adams, See What Happens, 1971, gouache on paper, 22 1/2 x 16 1/4 inches

The gallery is pleased to present its first exhibition of Pat Adams’s paintings and drawings, Works from the 1970s and 80s. This show includes sixteen works on paper, six major paintings and marks the first major New York presentation of Adams’s work since 2008 and the close of her longtime former dealer’s gallery, Zabriskie. In 2017 Adams’s work was the subject of a career retrospective at the Bennington Museum in Vermont.

Over decades Pat Adams (American, b. 1928) has developed a complex abstract visual vocabulary to explore metaphysical ideas in both her large-scale paintings and intimate works on paper. Adams’s worldview, combined with an intense focus on visuality and an awareness of the psychology of perception—how we see, feel, and comprehend the world—has its origins during her childhood in California and was solidified in her years of study at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to art, Adams studied anthropology, paleontology, psychology, and physics, which impressed her both on the complexity of the phenomenal world, and the significance of primary, intrinsic constructs in how we perceive and comprehend that world. After graduating Berkley in 1949, Adams moved to New York, where she began to study the painting of Kandinsky and Mondrian at the Guggenheim and the works of Jackson Pollock at the Museum of Modern Art. She attended classes at the Brooklyn Museum Art School where she studied with Max Beckmann, John Ferren and Reuben Tam.

Since the mid-fifties, Adams has explored a core vocabulary of abstract geometric forms that have been embedded in undefined fields of glistening colors. Her imagery often includes circles, curves, lines, arabesques, squares, and variations of spherical shapes. She often enhances the material quality of her paintings by mixing sand, mica, eggshells and other natural materials into her pigments, creating both deep and shallow spaces; mysterious transparency and physicality. Adams has developed her own Pat Adams, Out Come Out, 1980, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, pastel, mica, eggshell and sand on linen, 80 x 80 inches. language and system of poetics that has been revealed in her titles and writings to describe qualities in her work: “quiddity or whatness, richesse, the once again begin again, towardness, involuntary affect, slowing, apparency, delayed closure, autogenous bursts, and the ‘not-as-yet.’”

 

This system of poetics has been described by artist and critic Mario Naves as “verbs.” He writes:

The metaphysical underpinnings of these dense and delicate pictures divulge themselves gradually. Adams illuminates what are often abstruse avenues of philosophical thought, yet doesn’t put a fine point on them. Her pictures are particular as they are elusive, and she thrives on paradox.

While Adam’s paintings often have an immediate, even visceral impact on the viewer, their great strength may rest in their ability to draw viewers in and keep them visually, mentally, and emotionally engaged over long periods of looking, thinking and feeling. Her work has a unique core that confront the viewer, asking to give their exclusive attention to what is before their eyes, so that they focus more on the painting and not on the search for outside references. Her works ask the viewer to observe what happens when a wire-thin line journeys into an undefined field, or when jolts of color move in a parabolic trajectory across the canvas.

The critic Lance Esplund has said of Adams’s work:

One of the most startling things about Ms. Adams’s works is that their flat surfaces, as active, various and sometimes seemingly chaotic as they are, still maintain clockwork precision and clarity. It’s as if we were seeing the stages of growth or the steps of transformation, each accompanied by its gaseous residue or shed skin.

On the works featured in our current show, John Yau writes:

The overlapping transparent and semi-transparent layers, the multitude of abstract vocabularies engaging with each other in various ways, become an invitation to immerse oneself in the many different pleasures and possibilities that her paintings bring together. On every scale, Adams’s work invites a slow contemplative engagement, which runs counter to the quick visual consumption of a signature image or motif, which has become a commonplace experience in today’s art world.

Adams’s drawings and paintings have been the subject of more than thirty one-person shows in New York since the mid-1950s. Since the early 1960s Adams has lived in Vermont, where she enjoyed a long teaching career at Bennington College. She lives in an historic Victorian home with lush gardens, a pond, surrounded by the Green Mountains. The environment is graceful and includes a rich blend of colors, textures and shapes – as those integrated in her work. However, Adams has said that her long-time surroundings are only but one aspect of her work. While a place enhances, it does not ultimately inform the subject of her painting. It provides the solitude required to reflect on herself, disengage from the mainstream and view from a distance the issues that occupy the world.

Installations

Installations Thumbnails
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with six paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with five paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with five paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with two small paintings hung on white walls
Photograph of a view of an exhibition space, showing two small paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with one large painting hung on a white wall
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing the front view of an exhibition space, with a painting hung on a white wall, and a table and chair below
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with six paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with five paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with five paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with two small paintings hung on white walls
Photograph of a view of an exhibition space, showing two small paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with one large painting hung on a white wall
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hung on white walls
Photograph showing a corner view of an exhibition space, with four paintings hanging on white walls
Photograph showing the front view of an exhibition space, with a painting hung on a white wall, and a table and chair below
Photograph showing a view of an exhibition space, with three paintings hanging on white walls

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Abstract painting with a scalloped circle and curvilinear lines arranged on an atmospheric ground with washes of grey, orange, yellow, and blue

Apparent, 1982, acrylic over lithograph proof on paper, 25 1/2 x 18 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with short, looping line segments arranged over a rust-red ground

Top and Bottom, 1971, oil, isobutyl methacrylate and mica on canvas, 77 x 24 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with several curving lines and circles arranged on an atmospheric red and yellow surface

Interstitial, 1987, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, shell, mica, pigment on canvas, 80 x 131 1/2 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured off-white surface with washes of blue, red, and yellow

Our Time, 1979, mixed media on paper, 21 1/4 x 29 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured off-white surface with washes of blue, pink, and yellow

Arise, 1981, acrylic, crayon and sand on paper, 23 x 18 3/4 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured grey surface

Else, 1979, lithographic ink on macre Japanese paper, acrylic, eggshell, crayon and pastel on paper, 21 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches

Inquire
Painting of an abstract painting with textured, layered washes of color in blue, green, brown, pink, and black

Au Point, 1980, acrylic, mica and eggshell on paper, 17 3/4 x 23 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured surface, in pink. red, grey, green and white

Noah's Ark, 1979, acrylic, mica and ink on paper, 23 x 17 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with curving lines and a red curving triangle on an atmospheric green surface with washes of red and orange

Out Come Out, 1980, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, pastel, mica, eggshell and sand on linen, 80 x 80 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with multiples circles arranged and layered on the canvas, in textured grey, black, green, brown, orange, and red

Calculus of Rhyme, 1987, acrylic, sand and pigment on paper, 18 7/8 x 16 1/2 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric shapes and lines arranged on a textured grey surface

In a Way of Sense, 1977, acrylic, mica, sand and crayon on paper, 19 x 11 1/2 inches

Inquire
Geometric abstraction with two light blue triangles, a yellow-green triangle and a pink triangle on a cream-colored and yellow ground, with curvilinear lines stretching across the canvas

Avec, 1979, mixed media on paper, 19 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric shapes and lines arranged over a cream-colored ground with washes of blue, green, and yellow and a textured white triangle on the upper right side

Willingness, 1977, acrylic, mother of pearl, pastel and ink on paper, 16 1/2 x 15 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured grey, brown, blue and red surface

Cardinal, 1978, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, and eggshell on canvas, 80 x 86 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with four red line segments floating over an atmospheric, black and brown surface

More So When, 1971, oil, isobutyl methacrylate and mica on linen, 68 x 68 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with a looping, curvilinear line over an atmospheric, white ground

Tethered Ease, 1971, oil and isobutyl methacrylate on canvas, 70 x 72 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with looping, intersecting lines over a textured, atmospheric surface with washes of blue over an orange and yellow ground

See What Happens, 1971, gouache on paper, 22 1/2 x 16 1/4 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with four blue and green line segments and one looping red line crossing a textured, atmospheric yellow surface

Errand of Honey, 1971, gouache on paper, 20 x 10 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with an oblong yellow shape within a blue rectangular shape on an off-white ground

How it Starts, 1974, gouache on paper, 17 x 19 3/4 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting of a field of cream-colored paint with multi-colored dots, with a curving red line along the bottom

Surface Climate, 1971, gouache and pastel on paper, 21 x 8 1/2 inches

Inquire
Textured, atmospheric abstract painting with of washes of tan over washes of blue-green, and the outline of a triangle in the bottom left corner

Glistening Drowse, 1970, gouache on paper, 17 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches

Inquire
Abstract painting with a scalloped circle and curvilinear lines arranged on an atmospheric ground with washes of grey, orange, yellow, and blue

Apparent, 1982, acrylic over lithograph proof on paper, 25 1/2 x 18 inches

Abstract painting with short, looping line segments arranged over a rust-red ground

Top and Bottom, 1971, oil, isobutyl methacrylate and mica on canvas, 77 x 24 inches

Abstract painting with several curving lines and circles arranged on an atmospheric red and yellow surface

Interstitial, 1987, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, shell, mica, pigment on canvas, 80 x 131 1/2 inches

Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured off-white surface with washes of blue, red, and yellow

Our Time, 1979, mixed media on paper, 21 1/4 x 29 inches

Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured off-white surface with washes of blue, pink, and yellow

Arise, 1981, acrylic, crayon and sand on paper, 23 x 18 3/4 inches

Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured grey surface

Else, 1979, lithographic ink on macre Japanese paper, acrylic, eggshell, crayon and pastel on paper, 21 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches

Painting of an abstract painting with textured, layered washes of color in blue, green, brown, pink, and black

Au Point, 1980, acrylic, mica and eggshell on paper, 17 3/4 x 23 inches

Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured surface, in pink. red, grey, green and white

Noah's Ark, 1979, acrylic, mica and ink on paper, 23 x 17 inches

Abstract painting with curving lines and a red curving triangle on an atmospheric green surface with washes of red and orange

Out Come Out, 1980, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, pastel, mica, eggshell and sand on linen, 80 x 80 inches

Abstract painting with multiples circles arranged and layered on the canvas, in textured grey, black, green, brown, orange, and red

Calculus of Rhyme, 1987, acrylic, sand and pigment on paper, 18 7/8 x 16 1/2 inches

Abstract painting with geometric shapes and lines arranged on a textured grey surface

In a Way of Sense, 1977, acrylic, mica, sand and crayon on paper, 19 x 11 1/2 inches

Geometric abstraction with two light blue triangles, a yellow-green triangle and a pink triangle on a cream-colored and yellow ground, with curvilinear lines stretching across the canvas

Avec, 1979, mixed media on paper, 19 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches

Abstract painting with geometric shapes and lines arranged over a cream-colored ground with washes of blue, green, and yellow and a textured white triangle on the upper right side

Willingness, 1977, acrylic, mother of pearl, pastel and ink on paper, 16 1/2 x 15 inches

Abstract painting with geometric lines and shapes arranged on a textured grey, brown, blue and red surface

Cardinal, 1978, oil, isobutyl methacrylate, and eggshell on canvas, 80 x 86 inches

Abstract painting with four red line segments floating over an atmospheric, black and brown surface

More So When, 1971, oil, isobutyl methacrylate and mica on linen, 68 x 68 inches

Abstract painting with a looping, curvilinear line over an atmospheric, white ground

Tethered Ease, 1971, oil and isobutyl methacrylate on canvas, 70 x 72 inches

Abstract painting with looping, intersecting lines over a textured, atmospheric surface with washes of blue over an orange and yellow ground

See What Happens, 1971, gouache on paper, 22 1/2 x 16 1/4 inches

Abstract painting with four blue and green line segments and one looping red line crossing a textured, atmospheric yellow surface

Errand of Honey, 1971, gouache on paper, 20 x 10 inches

Abstract painting with an oblong yellow shape within a blue rectangular shape on an off-white ground

How it Starts, 1974, gouache on paper, 17 x 19 3/4 inches

Abstract painting of a field of cream-colored paint with multi-colored dots, with a curving red line along the bottom

Surface Climate, 1971, gouache and pastel on paper, 21 x 8 1/2 inches

Textured, atmospheric abstract painting with of washes of tan over washes of blue-green, and the outline of a triangle in the bottom left corner

Glistening Drowse, 1970, gouache on paper, 17 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches

Video

Pat Adams: Work from the 1970s and 80s Exhibition Video