In my view, non-objective and abstract art have a special role in describing non-Newtonian reality—a reality in which our five senses are of little use.
We are pleased to announce McClain Gallery in Houston, TX has just opened Al Held: Works on Paper, 1960–1989, a focused exhibition of the artist’s drawings. Spanning almost three decades, the works trace the evolution of Held’s painting practice during this period, reflecting the gradual shifts and refinements in his approach. These changes are made evident in the different functions drawing and sketching came to play for the artist, first as a warm-up exercise and research tool to find new shapes and approaches into the pictorial plane, then as a preparatory tool for the immensely complex late paintings.
Al Held spent a transformative two years in Paris in the early 1950s. And he was not alone. Hundreds of American artists—many of them veterans like Held travelling on the GI Bill—studied and lived in a thriving postwar scene, experimenting with new forms and materials while rubbing elbows with Léger and Picasso. This story is the subject of the engrossing exhibition Americans in Paris: Artists Working in Postwar France, 1946–1962 at New York University’s Grey Art Museum (formerly Gallery). Curated by scholar Debra Bricker Balken and director Lynn Gumpert, the exhibition and catalogue provide in-depth information and generous selections of works. The Al Held Foundation lent three works that Al created towards the end of his time in Paris, completing his evolution from social realist to abstract expressionist. The exhibition is on view through July 20, then travels to the Addison Gallery of American Art in September and NYU Abu Dhabi in February 2025.
The Al Held Foundation is thrilled to announce the installation of two sculptures by Ronald Bladen (Vancouver, 1918–1988) on the scenic grounds of Held’s former home and studio. These works of geometric abstraction in painted aluminum —titled Wedge (1971) and Kama Sutra (1977)— were created at a moment when Bladen deepened his exploration of form in space. Presented in partnership with the Estate of Ronald Bladen, this installation honors the vital thirty-year friendship between these pioneers of postwar American geometric abstraction.