Untitled, 1966. Acrylic on canvas. 227.3 x 226.7 x 3.2 cm ; 89 1/2 x 89 1/4 x 1 1/4 in
Frieze Masters Spotlight: Vivian Springford
October 12 - 16, 2022. Booth S1
On the occasion of Frieze Masters Spotlight, Almine Rech will exhibit 8 works by the American abstract painter Vivian Springford (1913-2003). Springford first experimented with Abstract expressionism and then with a Color field vocabulary, the works presented focus on the latter.
Springford’s colour palette draws inspiration from landscapes, plants, flowers, and sky. These subtle tones of nature can be seen in chromatic explosions which take the form of theoretical and cosmological shapes.
These works exemplify her technical ingenuity, evocative choice of colour, and her practice exploring expressive forms through rhythmic movement. The works from the 1960s and 1970s demonstrate her evolving style, which increasingly departed from any theoretical or aesthetic reciprocity with the art of that time.
Springford once remarked that, for her, the act of painting was an “attempt to identify with the universal whole…. I want to find my own small plot or pattern of energy that will express the inner me in terms of rhythmic movement and colour. The expansive centre of the universe, of the stars, and of nature is my constant challenge in abstract terms.” [1]
[1] Springford's artist statement in the The Woman in the Arts Foundation's newsletter
(March, 1976).