Artist:

Gene Davis, born Washington, DC 1920-died Washington, DC 1985  Search this

Medium:

acrylic on canvas

Dimensions:

overall (7 panels): 87 1/2 x 108 in. (222.3 x 274.3 cm)

Type:

Painting

Date:

1962

Gallery Label:

In Wall Stripes No. 3, slices of empty wall interrupt seven bright canvases. The arrangement sets up a staccato rhythm among the stripes and transforms the painting into a work of architecture. By the late 1950s, Davis was convinced that the splashy canvases of the abstract expressionists had become a cliché. He chose instead to make his signature stripe paintings, a motif that allowed him to concentrate on color so intense that it "almost hurt."

Exhibition Label:

Davis described his modular works as architectural because they incorporated the wall on which they were hung. These works, known as "planks," may have influenced minimalist sculptor Donald Judd, who reviewed and admired them in Davis's 1963 New York gallery show.

Gene Davis: Hot Beat, 2016

Topic:

Abstract\geometric  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist

Object number:

1966.88.1A-G

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7b4157165-da8c-4356-b29a-a6add712c248

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1966.88.1A-G