Agnes Martin    Jun 2 - Sep 30, 2008

In close collaboration with the Executors of the Estate of Agnes Martin and Pace Wildenstein Gallery New York we are delighted to present Agnes Martin, one of the most outstanding and important female artists of the 20th Century.

Agnes Martin’s post-60s works often featured horizontal lines, grids and diluted colors presented on a square canvas and refer visually to the art-history category Minimalism and to works of her contemporaries like Donald Judd, Carl Andre, and Sol Lewitt. However, according to her writings and her opinions expressed during interviews, throughout her life she rejected this classification. She always considered herself an Abstract Expressionist and that meant for her, exactly as the name implies, an artist who creates abstract works that express and therefore evoke emotions. Her non-referential art originates “from personal inspirations, visions of perfections and conveys subtle moments of happiness, love and innocence” (Agnes Martin).

From the late 1960s Martin physically isolated herself to protect her works and herself from outside influences. She lived, until her death, in very remote areas of New Mexico, in extremely spartan conditions, often without a phone, television, electricity and running water. “I spend my mornings painting and my afternoons thinking about my paintings” (Agnes Martin).

The exhibition will be on view from 2nd June to 30th September, 2008 and is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A catalog with full-page color reproductions of all the works included in the exhibition and an accompanying essay by Olivier Berggruen is in preparation.