Stanley Whitney, an influential painter, showcases his journey through color and structure in the retrospective exhibition titled ‘Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon’ at the ICA Boston.
This comprehensive exhibition features over 100 works that span five decades, providing a window into Whitney’s artistic evolution, from his early representational sketches and paintings to his recent, signature geometric compositions.
Alongside the artwork, a selection of Whitney’s sketchbooks is on display, offering insight into his creative process and personal politics.
Whitney, who has gained recognition for his mastery of color, views each painting as a distinct way of seeing and experiencing color.
In the initial galleries of the exhibition, visitors can catch a glimpse of Whitney’s artistic journey through his experimental figurative work and different abstractions.
However, by 2002, he had solidified his geometric system of colorful blocks, a style still prevalent in his latest works to this day.
Ruth Erickson, the Barbara Lee Chief Curator at the ICA, noted that the exhibition’s title, inspired by a 1940 song, reflects the enchantment conveyed through Whitney’s expansive yet consistent paintings.
She emphasized that Whitney’s abstractions invite viewers to focus on their personal responses to color rather than being tied to a specific subject.
Whitney’s rich life experiences have indelibly influenced his work.
Growing up in Philadelphia’s Black community, music — particularly jazz — played a significant role in his life.
He fondly recalls attending jazz clubs and engaging with live music and poetry, particularly during his formative years in New York City during the 1960s and 1970s.
Whitney continues to draw inspiration from music, often listening while he paints, with some of his works named after musicians or songs.
“I grew up in Philadelphia and in the Black community music was everything,” he reflects.
Whitney describes his artistic pursuit as a quest to create his unique recipe for painting.
His signature method revolves around constructing four rows of colored blocks, typically separated by thick horizontal lines.
The variations in color and size of the blocks across different paintings enhance the viewer’s ability to focus on essential elements such as color, shape, scale, and brushstrokes.
The exhibition ‘Stanley Whitney: How High the Moon’ is scheduled to run at the ICA Boston until September 1.
Admission to the ICA is free every Thursday evening after 5 p.m., providing an excellent opportunity for the public to engage with Whitney’s work.
Despite being a prolific artist since a young age, filling numerous sketchbooks and painting daily, Whitney only recently began to receive the recognition commensurate with his talent.
As Cathleen Chaffee, Chief Curator at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, where the exhibition was organized, points out, attention to Whitney’s work arrived later than that of many contemporaries.
He was constantly exhibiting but maintained a full-time teaching career up until just a few years ago.
This trajectory mirrors the experience of John Wilson, a Roxbury native artist, whose largest exhibition to date is currently on view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Although Wilson and Whitney produce distinct types of artwork, both artists are significant Black figures in the art world and are finally receiving the recognition they deserve.
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