No. 7
Artist
John Egner
(American, M.F.A. Yale; B.F.A. Philadelphia Museum College of Art, 1940 - 2021)
Date1972
MediumEnamel on canvas
Dimensions72 × 16 1/4 in. (182.9 × 41.3 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of James Pearson Duffy, 1992
Object numberUAC1318
DescriptionEgner’s kinetically geometric, vertical composition, "No. 7” features a rich color palette, with balanced, incongruously complimenting hues. Each multicolored form wraps it’s way upward, enveloping one another, in a subtle dance of tension and release that leads the eye on a scavenger hunt across the whole of the canvas, unveiling the prize of a visually pleasing abstraction. These playful geometries alternate between solidly rendered segments of bold, smooth pigmentation and sections filled with a marbleized gradient that document the hand of the artist, the bristles of his brush. Active, evidentiary paintings, with a purposefully unfinished quality, charged with a thrifty grit are often viewed as synonymous with the rough-and-tumble style of Cass Corridor movement to which Egner belongs. Though the energetic quality of the composition helps link it to the Detroit movement, the interest in multi textured geometric studies is characteristically Egner’s; the interest in structure which has come to fruition in the artist’s later works begins to blossom in his rendering of this layered field of opalescent color. Philadelphia native John Egner studied painting at the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, , obtaining a B.F.A in 1963 followed by a stint at the Brooklyn Museum Art School where he was awarded the Max Bechmann Scholarship. Next he moved on to Yale University, graduating with a M.F.A. in 1966. It was after these educational endeavors that Egner found his way to Detroit, taking on the role of Professor of Undergraduate and Graduate Painting at Wayne State University. This relocation to downtown Detroit connected him with its burgeoning art scene, introducing him to other artists that that would become affiliated with the Cass Corridor movement. As an instructor, Egner arguably influenced those under his tutelage, shaping later manifestations of the Detroit bred style and facilitating exhibitions for the work of his contemporaries, assisting in the founding of the Willis Gallery. A current resident of New York state, the seminal Cass Corridor artist Egner continues to create and exhibit his art.
Written by Kat Goffnett
Collections
