No Limits, Just Edges:
Jackson Pollock – Paintings on Paper
29 January – 10 April 2005
With the exhibition No Limits, Just Edges: Jackson Pollock –
Paintings on Paper the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin presents
from 29 January to 10 April 2005 to European audiences a
relatively
Abstract
unknown
aspect
Expressionist:
of
the
Pollock’s
American
graphic
painter
works.
and
With
a
retrospective selection of approximately 50 works on paper
from international collections, the exhibition highlights the
most
important
development
phases of Pollok’s work and documents his
in
drawing
in
a
survey
spanning
from
his
figurative, strongly European-influenced beginnings through
to his abstract compositions of the later years.
During
his
brief,
yet
brilliant
career,
Pollock
produced
approximately seven hundred works on paper in a variety of
traditional
drawing
mediums
—
pencil,
ink,
watercolor,
gouache, and collage — as well as, toward the end of his
life, poured enamel. At the time of his first one-person
exhibition, in the Daylight Gallery of Peggy Guggenheim’s Art
of This Century in November 1943, the artist chose to exhibit
both paintings and drawings. This may have been partly due to
practical considerations, as smaller works tended to attract
ready sales. However, the primary motivation was Pollock’s
conviction that his paintings on canvas and his works on
paper deserved equal attention as expressions of his artistic
aims. From this exhibition on, at least half of his solo
shows
during
his
lifetime
included
approximately
equal
numbers of paintings and works on paper.
Generally, the stylistic development of Pollock’s drawings
mirrors
that
of
his
paintings,
and
four
loosely
grouped
categories can be defined. The first, from circa 1935 to
circa 1941, is characterized by figuration of both human and
imaginary beings. It includes three accomplished sketchbooks
that surfaced after his death and a group of unbound drawings
that
are
most
often
connected
to
the
psychoanalytical
treatment the artist underwent in an attempt to deal with his
alcoholism. The second stylistic grouping, a body of fully
mature
works
dating
corresponding
between
approximately
circa
to
1942
Pollock’s
through
1947
association
and
with
Peggy Guggenheim’s museum/gallery Art of This Century, is
distinguished by an idiosyncratic iconography he developed in
part
as
a
response
to
Surrealist
influences.
Employing
mythical subject matter, calligraphic markings, and a vibrant
and distinctive color palette, Pollock produced emotionally
charged paintings and works on paper that retain figurative
subject matter yet emphasize abstract qualities.
Arising from this confluence of abstraction and figuration,
the
third
stylistic
set
comprises
Pollock’s
breakthrough
works, commonly perceived as pure abstraction and made over
the course of a very explosive and intense period between
late 1947 and 1950. Here, not only did Pollock move away from
a reliance on traditional figuration and subject matter, but
he also broke free from the standard use of drawing and
painting implements, usually abandoning their direct contact
with the surface. Instead, he worked from distances above the
picture
plane,
techniques
—
using
methods
dripping,
that
were
pouring,
not
and
splattering
necessarily
Pollock’s
invention alone but that he pushed to new extremes.
The fourth and final group represents a further refinement of
Pollock’s pouring techniques. Here the drawings are still
stylistically related to his works on canvas of the time, but
whereas earlier drawings had a clear connection to larger
canvases, these later drawings are distinct explorations that
specifically
exploit
the
qualities
of
working
with
fluid
mediums on porous paper. Like the canvas paintings completed
between 1950 and 1952, these drawings exhibit a more open,
light
ground
scattered
with
lyrical
compositions
of
calligraphic forms. The last four years of Pollock’s life —
he died tragically in an automobile accident on August 11,
1956 — are almost devoid of drawings; correspondingly, his
output of paintings also diminished.
No Limits, Just Edges: Jackson Pollock – Paintings on Paper
was
curated
by Susan Davidson, Curator of the Guggenheim
Museum New York. The exhibition is accompanied by a hardcover
catalogue published in separate German and English editions.
Featuring an essay by the curator alongside contributions by
David
Anfam
and
Margaret
Holben
Ellis,
the
catalogue
is
available for € 34.
As Edition No. 30 Jackson Pollock’s Pens and Papers, 2005,
was produced in a limited edition of 350 copies, thereof 50
copies
as
subscription
edition.
Exclusively
available
for
purchase at the MuseumsShop, the standard edition is priced
at € 85, and the subscription edition in a display case is
priced at approx. € 240.
No Limits, Just Edges: Jackson Pollock – Paintings on Paper
is accompanied by an extensive supporting program. For the
17th
Long
Night
of
the
Museums
on
29
January
2005,
the
Deutsche Guggenheim will show the film portrait Pollock, USA
2000 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the atrium of the Deutsche
Bank.
The
film
traces
the
artistic
development
of
the
Abstract Expressionist from a biographical perspective. In
relation
to
the
Long
Night’s
thematic
focus
on
Art
Collecting, there are guided tours through the Deutsche Bank
Collection located in the building Unter den Linden hourly
from 6.30 – 11.30 p.m. The exhibition will remain open on the
Long Night of Museums until 2 a.m.
On 22 and 30 March 2005, Trio Nexus, Berlin, will perform
music by the American composer Morton Feldman, who was a
close
friend
of
Pollock.
Musically
influenced
by
Edgar
Varèse, Anton von Webern and John Cage, Feldman also derived
inspiration from the abstract paintings of Philip Guston,
Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns. On 22
March
2005
at
7
p.m.,
two
pieces
entitled
Why
Patterns?
(1978)
und
Crippled Symmetry
(1983) will be performed. A
further piece, For Philip Guston (1984), can be heard on 30
March 2005 at 7 p.m.
The
exhibition
will
also
be
accompanied
by
a
series
of
lectures exploring various aspects of Pollock’s oeuvre. On 24
February at 7 p.m., the visual artist and writer Olga Lewicka
will give a lecture entitled Drip’n’Draw – Design and Concept
in
the
Works
drawings,
of
she
Jackson
will
Pollock.
explore
the
Focusing
on
Pollock’s
relationship
between
spontaneity and theory. Jasper Sharp, Exhibition Organizer of
the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, will concentrate
in
his
lecture
on
10
March
at
7
p.m.
on
the
special
relationship between the collector and the artist. His talk
will
cast
success
light upon the factors underlying the enormous
of
Pollock’s
first
solo
exhibition
in
Peggy
Guggenheim’s gallery Art of this Century, as well as upon the
reciprocal
influence
of the two on each other’s careers.
Expert on modern American art and co-author of the exhibition
catalogue, David Anfam, will explore the themes of Jackson
Pollock’s work, especially its relationship to photography
and American culture. Entitled Jackson Pollock: Action, Art
and America, Anfam’s lecture will be held on 31 March at 7
p.m.
A special focus of the supporting program is on the events
offered
to
children
and
families.
In
addition
to
the
traditional Family Brunch, which takes place at the Deutsche
Guggenheim on Sunday, 27 February at 11:30 p.m., the museum
will be running a special program for children between the
age of three and twelve. On 6 and 13 February 2005 at 3 p.m.,
and on 5 and 6 April 2005 at 4 p.m., little art lovers will
have
the
opportunity
to
explore
the
world
of
Jackson
Pollock’s colors and lines. Free guided tours are offered
daily
at
6
p.m.,
and
the
well
known
Lunch
Lectures
on
Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and keynote tours on Sundays at 11.30
a.m. will round off the support program as usual.
Further information at:
Press:
Silvie Buschmann
Phone:
+49-30-202093-14
Fax:
+49-30-202093-20
email:
berlin.guggenheim@db.com
Internet:
www.deutsche-guggenheim.de
Images of the exhibition are available
files.de/guggenheim in 300 dpi resolution.
online
at
www.photo-