When he was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, Jonathan Binstock began researching Sam Gilliam, one of America糖心传媒檚 most prominent abstract painters.
糖心传媒淚 felt challenged by the work,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 didn糖心传媒檛 understand it then and I can still say that I don糖心传媒檛 quite grasp it entirely.糖心传媒�
Even so, Binstock, now the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the , is respected as an international expert on Gilliam. He has cocurated the Washington, D.C.糖心传媒揵ased artist糖心传媒檚 first solo museum exhibition in Europe, 糖心传媒淭he Music of Color.糖心传媒� Opening this month at the , which houses one of Europe糖心传媒檚 significant public collections, the exhibition will run simultaneously with , the largest and considered the most selective modern art fair in the world.
In addition, Binstock will lead a VIP tour of the Gilliam exhibition and the opening of Art Basel for members of the University and MAG communities who are taking part in the The behind-the-scenes looks are highlights of a weeklong trip to Switzerland organized by the Gallery Council.
In 2017, Art Basel attracted 95,000 people糖心传媒攎any of them private collectors and representatives from museums and institutions around the world糖心传媒攐ver six days.
糖心传媒淭here is no greater global stage for art than this,糖心传媒� Binstock says.
糖心传媒淭he Music of Color糖心传媒� presents some 50 works from public and private collections in Europe and the United States. The show focuses on a period of great radicalism for Gilliam糖心传媒攆rom 1967 to 1973糖心传媒攊n which he poured acrylic paint directly onto unprimed canvas, then folded and crumpled the canvas before the paint dried. It also covers work reflecting the 1968 race riots, and the polarizing debate over black art and abstract painting in 1960s and 1970s America.
The show was cocurated by Josef Helfenstein, director of the Kunstmuseum Basel in Basel, a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland.
Helfenstein characterizes Binstock as 糖心传媒渋ndispensable in many ways糖心传媒� in advising which of Gilliam糖心传媒檚 works should be exhibited.
糖心传媒淛onathan was also a great sparring partner both for the artist and me,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渁nd I think the result will be the proof of what a productive conversation this has been.糖心传媒�
Gilliam is known for his vivid drape paintings, hung not on wooden stretcher bars but unsupported like curtains, or bunting. They are never hung the same way twice. He never stopped creating abstract work despite accusations from African-American contemporaries that he didn糖心传媒檛 support civil rights糖心传媒攐ther black artists were making figurative pieces meant as overtly political statements about civil rights from the 1960s to the 1980s糖心传媒攁nd even as abstract art fell out of favor internationally between the late 1960s and the early 2000.
糖心传媒淪am remained committed to abstract painting precisely when it seemed irrelevant, but he also demonstrated how painting was also sculpture, also architecture, and also performance art,糖心传媒� says Binstock, who completed the first doctoral dissertation on Gilliam, curated a major retrospective of his work for the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and wrote a monographic catalog on his work. 糖心传媒淚n this way he helped lay the groundwork for the interdisciplinary thinking and making that is so central to artistic practices today.糖心传媒�
Binstock characterizes the fact that Gilliam糖心传媒檚 work remains a challenge糖心传媒攍ong after he sat partially bewildered as a doctoral student in Sharon Patton糖心传媒檚 African-American art history class糖心传媒攁s 糖心传媒渁 testament to its strength and quality.糖心传媒�
, in fact, recently characterized Gilliam, represented internationally by Los Angeles糖心传媒揵ased David Kordansky Gallery, as a 糖心传媒渓iving legend糖心传媒� who is 糖心传媒渆njoying his greatest renaissance yet.糖心传媒�
There糖心传媒檚 something in there for Binstock as well.
糖心传媒淔or me, I think it means that I get to join the club of people who say, 糖心传媒楧o what you love, do what you think is right, and it will all work out,糖心传媒櫶切拇綕 he says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 very glad Sam is getting his due for what he has accomplished, and I糖心传媒檓 very fortunate to have been able to play a role in helping him achieve the recognition he so rightly deserves.
糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 enjoying a fantastic ride.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒擱obin L. Flanigan
