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postwar abstraction

Alma Thomas, Lunar Rendezvous—Circle of Flowers, 1969, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 121.9 cm (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville) — Thomas takes inspiration from both the 1969 moon landing and her backyard garden

Alma Thomas, Lunar Rendezvous—Circle of Flowers

by Alejo Benedetti, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Dr. Steven Zucker

Sam Gilliam trespasses the distinction between painting and sculpture

Sam Gilliam, Purpled (Chasers Series)

by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Dr. Steven Zucker

Rita Mae Pettway, Housetop (fractured medallion variation), 1977, corduroy, 80 x 76 inches (Virginia Museum of Fine Art) — Gee's Bend quilts challenge notions of what is — and what is not — modern art.

Gee’s Bend, quilting over generations

by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Dr. Beth Harris

Ruth Asawa, Untitled, c. 1958, iron wire, 219.7 × 81.3 × 81.3 cm Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. — Taking cues from Mexican basket-weaving, Asawa creates diaphanous abstract forms from woven wire.

Ruth Asawa, Untitled

by Allison Glenn, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Dr. Beth Harris

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken, 1969, oil on masonite, 121.9 x 121.9 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) — Can color alone create dimension? Albers did the research.

Josef Albers, Homage to the Square

by Shawn Roggenkamp