Untitled (From Ten in Black and White portfolio)
Artist
Gordon Newton
(American, 1948-2019)
Date1972
MediumCliché-verre
DimensionsPaper Size: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineGift of Aris Koutroulis, 2011
Object numberUAC5293
DescriptionAn outlier in the “Ten in Black and White” portfolio, this piece is constructed with black marks, shapes, and text on a creamy white plane. Using the cliche verre technique, Newton etched a composition of energetic, scratched lines surrounding a more cohesive central collection of shapes, spontaneously intersecting the crude rectangular border of the image. An ovular form dominates the center of the composition, graced with bold triangular figures dancing upon its surface, inviting a depth to be read into the work. This abstracted central group is perhaps reminiscent of sail boats navigating about a small pond or the wings of a butterfly. Further complicating this curious work is Newton’s inclusion of text. The words “BLACKSTRAP” and “VENUS”(printed upside down) are featured most prominently, but more text and numbers are folded into the black marks at the bottom of the composition. This work perhaps poses more curiosities than others in the portfolio, however, this exploratory sketch is exemplary early Newton as he delves into ideas of abstraction and geometries creating aesthetic complications and balance in this work as in others in the “Ten in Black and White” portfolio. Often heralded as the reclusive genius, seminal to the Cass Corridor artistic style, Gordon Newton, a Detroit native born in 1948, spent his childhood moving about the midwest before returning to the Southeast Michigan, beginning his formal art education in Port Huron Community College. From there, Newton elected to return to downtown Detroit, enrolling in art school at the Society of Arts and Crafts (now College for Creative Studies) in 1969, transferring to Wayne State University a year later. Known for labored, deeply analytical work inspired by his surroundings both in downtown Detroit and the more naturalized landscape of Northern Michigan, Newton carved out a place for himself not only in the Cass Corridor, but found contextualization within a larger American Expressionist movement, combining various elements of established visual languages to create an almost neo-Expressionist style, speaking in his own, unique vernacular. Gordon Newton has continued to live and work in Detroit through to today. Though he remains an elusive figure in the art world, his work continues to be visible, not only due to the Wayne State Art Collection, but through exhibitions throughout the surrounding areas.
Written by Kat Goffnett
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