Glowing 1970

Editor: We are looking at “Glowing,” a 1970 watercolor on canvas by Pat Lipsky. The immediate impression is of vibrant colors bleeding and expanding. What story can you tell about this abstract piece? Curator: It is important to situate Lipsky’s work within the Color Field movement, and more broadly within the trajectory of Abstract Expressionism. The stain technique, popularized by artists like Helen Frankenthaler, involved pouring diluted paint directly onto the canvas, a rejection of the more forceful gestural approach of earlier Abstract Expressionists. What do you make of the "all-over" composition? Editor: It's interesting. There's a clear concentration of color, but those splatters make the eye move all around the canvas. So how would that "all-over" composition relate to the social context of the 70s? Curator: Well, the 1970s was a time of immense social and political change. The art world, too, was experiencing a shift. Artists were actively challenging the established norms and hierarchies within the art world, including the dominance of male artists. Lipsky, among other women artists, sought to find their own voices and contribute to expanding definitions of what constituted significant art. How does this more expansive, and frankly less bombastic approach, change how we interact with abstract art? Editor: It does feel less…intimidating, I guess? More open. And those "feminine" colors feel pretty bold for the period. Did the institutional acceptance change through the decade? Curator: Absolutely. While initially met with skepticism, her work, and the work of other women Color Field painters, gradually gained recognition as museums and galleries started diversifying their collections. What I appreciate most is Lipsky's quiet but persistent challenge to established norms, reflected in the luminous vulnerability of her “Glowing”. Editor: I’ll definitely keep that in mind next time I encounter a Color Field painting. Thanks, that was a very enlightening perspective.