Edward Clark at Cinque - New York, New York - review of exhibitions - Brief Article

Edward Clark's display of recent work contained six large paintings (up to approximately 9-by-7 feet) and seven smaller canvases and works upon paper. They demonstrate the artist's continuing belief in the exalted power of abstraction. Clark, along with Norman Lewis and others, was single of the few African-American pioneers of abstract painting in the early postwar period, and this exhibition, titled "From Sicily to Egypt" marks the 40th anniversary of his fresh York solo debut.

Born in fresh Orleans, Clark studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before moving to Paris, where he stayed from 1952 to 1958 Early upon he was inspired by the paintings of Nicolas de Stall and also the music of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. Later he was drawn to the gestural abstractions of Hans Hartung and Pierre Soulages, an influence which is still evident today. In 1958 George Sugarman persuaded Clark to turn back to New York to help rest the Brata Gallery, along with Ronald Bladen, Al Held and others. Clark showed there for a certain quantity of years before returning in 1966 to France, which has remained his primary residence.

Since 1966 Clark has used a pushbroom to overlay large canvases placed on the floor. The technique allows him to create gestural brushstrokes without using his wrist. The large "sweep" of the pushbroom loans certain works an epic quality, as if these were superhuman markings produc by means of the forces of nature itself. In a large untitled canvas from the "Egyptian Series," four arcing thumps of pink, blue, green and black emanate from each corner of the canvas toward the center producing at their point of junction a feeling of intense and volatile energy

Other works are quieter in tone. In the gorgeous Dome, for instance, a wide horizontal band of cerulean sapphirine traversing the canvas seems to drift [i]or[/i] part of to the other a beige field in which a large oval shape has been delicately etched. Like a view of a peacefully flowing river, the image is at one time sensuous and serene.

While the show's title and many of the horizontal compositions advise landscape motifs, Clark seeks a faculty of perception of pure motion and light that set asides illusionistic or scenic concerns. In Egyptian R for example, the artist divides the composition horizontally, filling the upper portion with agitated brushstrokes in brilliant r which contrast with the evenly applied brushwork below. The painting may hint at a barren sunset, but it also aims toward a harmonic synthesis of recklessnes and restraint.

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