Late Blues
Artist
John Egner
(American, M.F.A. Yale; B.F.A. Philadelphia Museum College of Art, 1940 - 2021)
Date1982
MediumOil on paper
Dimensions29 × 44 1/2 in. (73.7 × 113 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Object numberUAC2704
DescriptionLate Blues is a visual clash between hard lines and right angles and the splatter of paint and movement that the artist puts on the canvas. The effects of the paint splatters seem layered behind the orderly stripes, only to have paint splattered on top again. In a way, Late Blues could refer to the way the blue paint seems to be painted on later than the rest of the visual elements. In any case, the dynamism on display in the center of the work is an excellent experiment in contrasting forms. With the flat bar-like form in the lower third of the painting, and the angular signature Egner left, and the spiraling, irregular angles of paint flying from the top of the canvas, it reads like a buzzsaw, coming down into the wood of the table. In one way, violent and destructive, but on the other, a part of the artist's creative process. During this period, many painters like John Egner and the other Cass Corridor artists were looking for ways to reinvigorate painting in the wake of the art world after the pop-art and neo-dadaism movements rejected painting as a medium.
John Egner (1940-2021) was an influential Detroit artist and art professor at Wayne State University. A part of the Cass Corridor art scene, Egner spent time working with experimental media along with Aris Koutroulis. He received his BFA in painting from the Philadelphia Museum College of Art and his MFA from Yale University. He taught painting at Wayne State University from 1966-1987 while actively making art and exhibiting in galleries locally and in New York City.
Written by Alex Heath
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