An Inside Look: The Making of an Exhibition

While “Adolph Gottlieb: Classic Paintings” is on view, we thought we would extend a behind-the-scenes look at the development of this exhibition.

Rigging paintings out the window of the Gottlieb Foundation in preparation for the exhibition.

The Gottlieb Foundation and The Pace Gallery worked together over the past year-and-a-half to curate a thoughtful selection of significant Adolph Gottlieb paintings. The result of our efforts is the exhibition “Adolph Gottlieb: Classic Paintings” on view at The Pace Gallery, 510 West 25th Street in New York City until April 13th.  The exhibition features 20 large- and small-scale paintings with a focus on  the “Burst” and “Imaginary Landscape” images. These paintings, spanning 1955-1974, celebrate Gottlieb's formal accomplishments and highlight the continuing relevance of Gottlieb's artistic contributions. Many works in this show are on loan from major institutions, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Whitney Museum. For some paintings, this exhibition marks their first return to New York City in decades.

Dr. Kent Minturn and Gottlieb Foundation Executive Director Sanford Hirsch, being filmed
Shown in the background, L to R:
GROUNDSCAPE, 1956, oil on canvas,84 x 144 “
GREEN DREAM, 1967, acrylic on paper,24 x 19 “
BURST (FIRST STATE), 1974, acrylic on paper,23 7/8 x 18 "
©Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation/Licensed by ARS, NY, NY

The full exhibition video can be viewed here.

Installation view showing the installation plan (foreground) and the painting LAKE, 1971, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 108”.

“Adolph Gottlieb: Classic Paintings” Exhibition Catalogs, courtesy of the Pace Gallery

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue including an essay titled "Gottlieb's Balancing Act," by Dr. Kent Minturn, Visiting Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts, as well an exhibition video produced by The Pace Gallery.

We are also pleased to announce an upcoming panel on Adolph Gottlieb and his paintings at the Pace Gallery on April 8th. Panelists include Dr. Kent Minturn, Sanford Hirsch, Karen Wilkin, Jeffrey Katzin, and will be moderated by Phyllis Tuchman. Doors open at 6 PM, with the session beginning at 6:30. Hope to see you there!

For more information about the exhibition, the panel, or to see the exhibition video, click here.