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| Joan Mitchell, The Goodbye Door, 1980 |
For
visitors who have not considered the similarities between Monet’s final
paintings and the early days of American Abstract Expressionism, you won’t need
Clement Greenberg (whose words are the inspiration for this exhibition at the
Orangerie) to be convinced of the connections. The similarities and the
resonances are not just visually evident, they are striking. At the entry to
the exhibition is Joan Mitchell’s The
Goodbye Door, 1980, a huge polyptych on long term loan to the Orangerie. The
large and very loose blue, green and white brushstrokes unmistakeably echo the garden that so
inspired Mitchell when she stayed at Giverny. And there is no question of her being influence by Monet’s colours, his capture of the shimmering light on the lily
pads, the verticality and horizontality of the image in conversation on its
surface, the confluence of paint and nature, and the list goes on.
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| Claude Monet, Le Pont Japonais, 1918-24 |
As we see
in Mitchell’s painting, it’s not just the luscious
natural landscapes born of Monet’s fertile overgrown gardens at Giverny that are
reflected in the Abstract Expressionist works on exhibition. In addition to the conversation between verticality and horizontality, the dense
and emotional expressiveness of paint of both Monet and the Abstract Expressionist works offer a playground for the eyes. The thick foliage becomes transferred
to the materiality of paint until eventually, paint and plants become fused,
conceptions of perspective, space and perception are challenged. And as it is
illustrated in this small exhibition, the revolution begins with Monet.
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| Mark Rothko, Blue and Grey, 1962 |
The surface
of the canvas, as the essential material of a work of art, was a constant focus
for Monet as it was for the Abstract Expressionist artists. The inclusion of
works such as Rothko’s Blue and Grey,
1962 and Morris Louis’s Vernal, 1960 are
interesting for the connections they create in our minds that may not otherwise
exist. Of course, like Monet before him, Rothko created dense coloured surfaces
that appeared to be vaporous and luminescent. In addition, Monet was interested
in surface in so far as he was interested in not filling the whole of the
canvas, thus drawing attention to the representational nature of painting.
Similar themes re-emerge in Morris Louis’s work of which Vernal, 1960 is here on display. But for Louis, it was about
reduction of paint, removing rather than building paint up; Louis creates a
stain, not a coagulated gesture. And then, down the line is, of course, Jackson
Pollock’s attention to the all over surface, but the connection to Monet seems more remote.
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| Philip Guston, Dial, 1956 |
Indeed, the
relationship between Monet and some of the works on display is not always
convincing. Thus, while we note the vibrancy of some of Guston’s images, the
pulsation of paint as light, and the use of colour to create rhythm through the
movement of line and brushstroke as something shared with Monet, I wondered how
much of the synchrony comes from the placement of the works side by side. Likewise, we could say that all these artists have a keen sense of colour, particularly as it
reacts with other colours, but I am not sure that this inevitably begins with
Monet as he represents the magnificence of his garden.
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Ellsworth Kelly, Green Painting, 1952
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At the end
of the exhibition, visitors are directed upstairs for the final coup d’etat;
Ellsworth Kelly’s glorious Green Painting,
1952 which literally shimmers and vibrates at the entry to the Waterlilies in their purpose built
circular galleries. There is something rare and magical about the
Kelly painting that we don’t see everyday; it is a small abstract painting that
is in constant motion, singing in the beautiful light, making it expand well beyond its frame to fill the circular space. It’s an unusual and incredible painting that is the
perfect preface that leads us into the Waterlillies.
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