BOLD ABSTRACTIONS:
PAINTINGS FROM THE THOMA COLLECTION
OCT 11, 2019–JAN 26, 2020 | ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM
SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE CARL & MARILYNN THOMA ART FOUNDATION
FREE DAILY ADMISSION DURING THE EXHIBITION

FRI, OCT 11
MEMBERS PREVIEW
5:15–6 PM | GALLERY WALK
6–7 PM | MEMBERS RECEPTION

PUBLIC OPENING
7–8:30 PM | FREE ADMISSION
CASH BAR provided by Prairie Street Brewing Co.

This major exhibition explores new forms of abstract painting from the 1960s, following the heyday of Abstract Expressionism. Highlighting color-based, geometric, and perceptual experiments, this selection of works from the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation Collection includes an international group of 33 artists associated with some of the key painting movements of the mid-20th century: Color Field, Post-Painterly Abstraction, Hard-Edge, and Op Art. Bold Abstractions at Rockford Art Museum marks the first time the Thoma’s significant post-war painting collection has been shown at a public institution.

No matter their stylistic, geographic, or conceptual affiliation, artists in the Thoma Collection are unified in their inventive use of bold colors, their limitless investigations into the effects of chromatic relationships, the immediacy of their paintings, and their intention to develop active relationships between the artwork and the observer. Some of the artists developed new techniques involving staining diluted paint right into the raw canvas while others preferred the precision of hard-edged shapes and overall, repetitive patterns that suggested movement and instability. Others worked with shaped canvases to explore the relationship between painting and object. The development of acrylic paint also contributed to the new aesthetic, an ideal medium for producing flat areas of high-key color and distinct linear elements. Informed by the decade’s spirit of experimentation and advancements in technology yet also by continuous social change and unbridled consumerism, these vivid, graphic paintings do not sit still. They invite the viewer to be an active participant, embracing vision as a catalyst for awareness.

Bold Abstractions includes work by Josef Albers, Peter Alexander, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Antonio Asis, Karl Benjamin, Judy Chicago, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Gene Davis, Ronald Davis, Thomas Downing, Friedel Dzubas, Wojciech Fangor, Lorser Feitelson, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Frederick Hammersley, June Harwood, Charles Hinman, Paul Jenkins, Julio Le Parc, Morris Louis, Alvin Loving, Helen Lundeberg, John McLaughlin, Ed Mieczekowski, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Matilde Perez, Paul Reed, Julian Stanczak, Tadasky, Anne Truitt, and Victor Vasarely.

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation was founded in 2014 and is based in Chicago and Santa Fe. The Thoma Foundation recognizes the power of the arts to challenge and shift perceptions, spark creativity and connect people across cultures.

This exhibition is organized by Carrie Johnson. Support for Bold Abstractions: Paintings from the Thoma Collection and its related programming—including free daily admission to all visitors for the duration of the exhibition—is provided by the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, and partially supported by a Partners in Excellence grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Art: Paul Reed (1919–2015), “Margem”, 1968, acrylic on shaped canvas. Collection of Carl & Marilynn Thoma. © Paul Reed, courtesy of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, photo by Kim Richardson.

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Tags: Alvin Loving, Anne Truitt, Antonio Asis, Bold Abstractions: Paintings from the Thoma Collection Opening, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Charles Hinman, Ed Mieczekowski, Frederick Hammersley, Friedel Dzubas, Gene Davis, Helen Frankenthaler, Helen Lundeberg, John McLaughlin, Josef Albers, Judy Chicago, Jules Olitski, Julian Stanczak, Julio Le Parc, June Harwood, Karl Benjamin, Kenneth Noland, Lorser Feitelson, Matilde Perez, Morris Louis, Paul Jenkins, Paul Reed, Peter Alexander, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Rockford, Rockford Art Museum, Ronald Davis, Sam Gilliam, Tadasky, Thomas Downing, Victor Vasarely, Wojciech Fangor