ART SEMINAR GROUP HYBRID PROGRAM: IN-PERSON AND STREAMING ONLINE

Philip Guston: The Artist as a Young Man – Between Art and Politics (lecture 1 of 3)

Aneta Georgievska-Shine, professor of art history, University of Maryland

The artistic path of Philip Guston was never predictable. He began as a figurative painter in the 1930's, inspired by the socially-engaged practices of Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera. Within two decades, he would establish himself as one of the leading Abstract Expressionists. At the height of his career, he made another abrupt shift - back to representation - creating self-consciously crude works that felt almost cartoonish at times.

Panned by critics and fellow artists alike, Guston fell out of favor for a number of years. Yet in recent decades, the works from this phase of his career have come to be recognized for their tremendous boldness and originality. At the same time, many of these figurative paintings, especially those concerning the question of racial injustice and violence, have also caused controversies – most recently exemplified by the postponement of a major retrospective at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

In this three-part series, we look more closely at his artistic goals and why they have been so often misunderstood.

$15 fee for guests and subscribers (no fee for members)