Ben Shahn- A Retrospective 1898-1969. October 20 1977

This is the poster for Ben Shahn’s retrospective at the Jewish Museum in New York, made in 1976. The drawing style is so particular, isn’t it? It feels like Shahn is thinking out loud with these spindly lines and sparse blocks of color. You can see the hand in it, no question. The buildings are rendered with such precision, like architectural drawings, but then there are these little bursts of pure emotion, like that cluster of chaotic color near the center. It’s so interesting how he balances control and spontaneity, maybe a bit like Cy Twombly. There’s this tension between the structural and the emotive, the planned and the accidental. Look at the way the lines seem to vibrate, creating a sense of movement and energy, it’s almost as if the city itself is breathing. Shahn's work has an immediacy that feels totally contemporary even now, and a way of combining influences that has had a huge impact on the development of painting. His voice remains unique.