Connecting with Motherwell

Posted on 1 October, 2014

Drawn entirely from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection, the abstract and intangible works by Robert Motherwell, an American painter, printmaker, and editor who lived from 1915 – 1991, are bound to prompt questions such as ‘Is this art?’.

Finding a connection with the artworks is essential to appreciating the significant role played by Motherwell in the development of the abstract expressionism movement in the United States. Such a connection enables the viewer to suppress inner voices that might compare and critique the art works merely as a counterpoint to other artistic styles.

A friend found her “Motherwell connection” by noticing a similarity to Japanese calligraphy and appreciating the works in that light. Another friend found that it was Motherwell’s use of a phenomenal colour palate made up of earthy ochres, brilliant yellows and oranges, startling reds and sky lit blues and violets which reached out to her.

Robert Motherwell Burning elegy 1991, lithograph National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

My own connection came from an appreciation of Motherwell’s utilisation of the art of collage. After a holiday I often create a collage of my travel ephemera and more times than I would like to admit I have the problem that Motherwell described, “Given these disparate and conflicting elements, how ultimately to unify them. It’s a painful, precarious way of making order. The separate elements tend to carry on guerrilla warfare with each other.”

Robert Motherwell painting with tusche on a lithographic stone for his Elegy print with negative print of ‘Elegy’ image on wall, Tyler Graphics artist studio, Bedford Village, New York, 1981 Photographer: Kenneth Tyler.

Sometimes you have to tear a museum entry ticket corner, use a strip off a map, glue or tape a coaster in a way that hides the full event of spilling a Guinness beer but it is the only way to make them all fit on the one page! Motherwell rated collaging highly and the process of getting multiple pieces to work together to create a unified new work helped him find solutions in other projects. Seeing a decorative art or handicraft that is “doable” by anyone, exhibited in a national gallery, is inspiring. I found that the experience inspired me to reconsider my own efforts and valuing my projects more than I had perhaps originally.

Robert Motherwell Bastos 1975, lithograph National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Motherwell’s talent in utilising many art techniques, such as etching, printmaking and lithography, in order to form a unified statement of his own creativity is well canvassed in this exhibition. His talent has left us with a wealth of stimulating creations that offer delightful connections once an individual’s ‘in’ is found.

The essentials

What: Robert Motherwell: At five in the afternoon
Where: National Gallery of Australia, Parkes
When: 10am to 5pm daily, until 6 October 2014
How much: Free entry
Web: www.nga.gov.au