Brushstrokes, a small selection of paintings and sketches by Franz Kline, is on view now in the Front Room of the Baltimore Museum of Art's West Wing for Contemporary Art.
Kline was a member of the Abstract Expressionism movement of the mid-20th century, a group also represented by Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning. Kline's style is notable for his broad, sometimes minimal use of brushstrokes, reminiscent, to many viewers, of Japanese calligraphy.
The comparison is highlighted by his early confinement to black-and-white painting, though Kline denied the influence and later incorporated color into his paintings.
The BMA exhibit displays some of these color works from the late 1950s, as well as several black-and-white studies for larger-scale works. The selection provides a glimpse into the creative mind of the painter.
The descriptive labels for the studies (actually small-scale oil-on-paper versions of his larger paintings) include pictures of the finished paintings that reveal how meticulously Kline planned his creations.
Though Kline's paintings are abstract and seemingly spontaneous, studies such as Study for "Requiem" (1958) show how he carefully planned each splintered line, arbitrary intrusion and even the varied texture of the cloud of black, like an ink spill, that dominates the painting.
Another sketch, Study for "Cupola" (1956), shows more improvisation between sketch and final painting, but it is interesting to note that the study was done significantly earlier than the completed work (Cupola was painting from 1958 through 1960).
Two medium-sized color paintings show the completed side of Kline's work. Yellow, Red, Green, Blue (1956) uses these colors in a vertical composition that evokes images of city buildings, especially where the swatches of color are flecked with window-like bars of black.
Once again, this appears to be a completely spontaneous work, but Kline's meticulousness is revealed in the careful layering of the different colors to create contrasts and outlines. Tragedy (1961) is even less figurative - it is a swirl of bold colors overlaid by a dark, muddy streak. The large, disordered swathes of color are subtly woven, creating a mesmerizing effect after the initial loudness of the painting's disorder.
The centerpiece of the exhibit is Green Cross (1956). This painting captures the graceful, minimal aspects of Kline's work that often remind viewers of Japanese brush art; except Green Cross is an imposingly large painting, in which the two strokes, in the shape of a sideways "t," create a world of negative space.
The design is deceptively simple; white paint is used to create a more translucent effect on the bottom half and to delineate a crisper edge on the top, making the abstract shape look like an object reflected in a lake. Instead of black, the contrasting color is a deep forest green. The size of the canvas makes a dominating impression that the other works don't quite compare to, and the overall impression evokes loneliness or emptiness, and gracefulness.
The Baltimore Museum of Art has a history of supporting Kline and other Abstract Expressionists. For those interested in the movement, the West Wing for Contemporary Art also displays several works by Grace Hartigan, a friend of Kline and a fellow Abstract Expressionist.
