Nothing in art is more powerful than color. From Matisse to Mark Rothko and Frank Stella, and onward to the huge Color Field canvases and pulsing neon sculptures of today, color as a means of expression is the keynote for this wildly exuberant show. Potent even to the point of being considered dangerous, it is the most exciting element of art, the strongest tool in the toolbox. “Color, above all, is a means of liberation,” Matisse declared.
The full range of color’s magic is on display in this exuberant show of over 100 works from the nineteenth century to this moment’s hottest talents. The roll call is a hit parade of art history’s most exciting names: Kandinsky, Motherwell, Warhol, Wolf Kahn, James Nares, Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Mitchell, David Hockney, and many more. It all begins with a monumental painting by Titian, considered the original champion of color in art, in a dramatic installation.