Larry Poons

Knoedler Contemporary Art, New York

Private Collection, Chicago

Thence by descent to the present owner

“Painting is nothing but color. There's nothing else - that's all there is in painting.”— Larry Poons

Untitled serves as a prime example of Larry Poons’ innovative color exploration practice. In this painting, he combines colors from a palette of greens, purples and pinks to create a fluid abstract work. The style of this work recalls that of other Abstract Expressionists such as Willem de Kooning or Jackson Pollock with whom Poons exhibited in 1969 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the landmark survey show “New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970,” in which he was the youngest artist. 

Poons originally enrolled at the New England Conservatory of Music before shifting to a visual arts education in the late 1950s, studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In his work Untitled viewers can notice the reminiscences of his musical training. The drips of colored paint cover the canvas with rhythm and tone, creating a melodious work which, just like music, explores an otherworldly place. Poons artistic practice is about conveying meaning through paint, he uses colors to express what can not be said with words. By working with the different aspects of this medium, Untitled exemplifies the artist’s commitment to provoking radical developments in art.