Reconsidering Barnett Newman: A Symposium at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Softcover
200 pages, 6 ½ x 9 ½ in.
96 b/w illus.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2005
ISBN 9780876331873

In April 2002 the Philadelphia Museum of Art held a symposium in conjunction with a major retrospective of the work of Barnett Newman (1905–1970). This volume publishes the proceedings of the event. With contributions from notable specialists in the field, including art historians, museum curators, critics, conservators, and fellow artists, the book sheds new light on Newman’s work and his pivotal role in forming the art of the late twentieth century.

The essays collected in Reconsidering Barnett Newman discuss the artist’s famous “zip,” temporal aspects of his work, his painting technique, and his sculptural oeuvre, among other topics. This wide-ranging collection provides new perspectives on one of the twentieth century’s greatest artists, whose restrained, almost severe pictorial lexicon resulted in such emotionally resonant works of art.

Melissa Ho is an artist and art historian who lives and works in Philadelphia.