FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gene Davis

1960s Stripe Paintings

November 3 - December 4, 2004

Known for his vertical stripe format, GENE DAVIS is celebrated for his paintings that reverberate in the eye of the viewer with a kinetic energy. This exhibition will feature 1960s paintings, focusing on large works with evenly spaced stripes in hues varying from vibrant to deep. It is the first show of DAVIS's work in New York since 1997. 

As Sarah Rich points out in her catalogue essay, though GENE DAVIS is often associated with the Greenberg-endorsed abstractionists of the 1960s, he recognized in his own work an affinity with Pop artists. "Like them, I work with visual clichés. Stripes have been a part of the environment for some time." Known almost as much for the evocative titles of his paintings, DAVIS often referenced Pop art, most literally in works such as Pepper Pot (1966), a riff on Andy Warhol's iconic Campbell soup can paintings.

Famous for his, at times, unconventional color combinations, DAVIS likened his approach to composing canvases to jazz improvisation. He wrote in 1971, "I seldom think about color. I take it for granted. Color theories are boring .... I never plan my color more than five stripes ahead, and often change my mind before I reach the third stripe."

GENE DAVIS (1920  1985)  was a member of the Washington Color School, a loosely affiliated group which included, among others, Morris Louis. DAVIS was included in seminal exhibitions during his lifetime including Post Painterly Abstraction at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1964 curated by Clement Greenberg, and The Responsive Eye at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965 curated by William Seitz. DAVIS's work is represented in major public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art, NY; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA.

An illustrated catalogue with an essay by Sarah K. Rich, is available in conjunction with this exhibition (24 pages, 11 color plate, $10).

The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery at 537 West 24^th Street, between 10^th and 11^th Avenues in Chelsea.  Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday.  There will be a reception on Friday, November 5, from 6-8 pm.

For further information or photographs, please contact the gallery.

Above image: Solar Skin, 1964. Magna on canvas, 92 ⅛ x 94 ½"