(Gomel, Russia, 1922 - 2007, New York, New York)
1969
Acrylic on canvas
68 x 106 1/4 in. (172.7 x 270.0 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Mr. Lawrence Rubin
1982.2
After experimenting with a variety of methods to apply paint—brushes, sponges, mops and rollers—in 1965 Jules Olitski began to spray paint onto his canvasses to create atmospheric fields of color. Like many abstract painters of the period, pure color was the subject of his painting. Unlike most of the other artists, Olitski was also concerned with texture. His finished surfaces, built up of many different layers of sprayed paint, have an unusual quality; they appear both soft and plastic and rock-hard, with the impenetrability of concrete.