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Naum Gabo and Colour
15 January - 27 March 2003
Annely Juda Fine Art is proud to present this stunning exhibition
of drawings and paintings by the Russian Constructivist Naum Gabo.
Gabo was born in Russia in 1890 and became a pioneer of the Constructivist
movement and one of the most important and influential sculptors of the
twentieth century. Best known for his colourless Perspex and nylon sculptures
Gabo's constructions manifest his interest in engineering, constructive
abstraction, and natural forms.
Gabo is less known for his two-dimensional work but this major exhibition
offers a unique opportunity to see and understand this significant aspect
of his work. The show includes over 60 paintings, drawings and prints
from 1910 to 1973 -many previously unseen. Ranging from figurative paintings
of his earliest period to abstract works that reflect the organic forms
of his sculptures many of the works use vibrant colour.
The exhibition also includes the large and important sculpture Column
in which Gabo uses colour in the Perspex.
Gabo is not generally recognised as a colourist but this exhibition reflects
his belief that 'Shapes, colours and lines speak their own language. They
are events in themselves and in an organised construction they become
beings – their psychological force is immediate, irresistible and
universal'. His daughter Nina recounts an anecdote of her father taking
his wife Miriam's paintbox as his own insisting that every artist's household
should have some paint. She also recalls how her father – at the
cost of the Miriam’s blender – tried to grind lapis lazuli
and other pigments to make his own colour. This show is testimony to his
expression in colour as well as space and form.
This is the fourth one-man exhibition of Gabo's works held at Annely Juda
Fine Art (previous shows were held in 1987, 1990 and 1999). His work is
represented in more than a hundred major museum collections including
the Tate Gallery, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The show is accompanied by an 80 page colour catalogue including an essay
by Michael Harrison, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge
click here to see
other work by Naum Gabo
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