In this keynote lecture for "Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself," Edith Devaney explores Motherwell’s position in 20th-century American Art and examines the unique role he played within the Abstract Expressionism movement. The motivation and manner in which Motherwell’s dissemination of the movement’s preoccupations to both the wider world and successive younger generations of artists are also considered.
Devaney charts Motherwell’s career progression alongside those of a number of his contemporaries, examining his work at key moments throughout his career and illustrating how his many interests- literature, philosophy, and art history-found expression in his works. There will also be a focus on the importance of drawing within his practice.
About the speaker:
Edith Devaney is a curator who has focused her practice on contemporary and modern art. Amongst the many exhibitions she has curated and written for are "David Hockney: A Bigger Picture" in 2012, "Abstract Expressionism" in 2016, and "Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth" in 2017, all at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Other recent exhibitions include "Arshile Gorky: 1904-1948" in 2019 and "Afro" in 2022 at Ca’ Pesaro Museum in Venice, and "Milton Avery" at the Museum of Modern Art at Fort Worth, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Royal Academy of Arts in 2022.
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Public Program of The Menil Collection, Houston, TX. February 9, 2023.