Art Gallery of Ontario Presents Abstract Expressionist Exhibition from MoMA

TORONTO.- Jackson Pollock. Mark Rothko. Robert Motherwell. Joan Mitchell. Franz Kline. Lee Krasner. Willem de Kooning. These are just a few of the legendary 20th-century artists whose artwork is now on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in an unprecedented international exclusive. Abstract Expressionist New York: Masterpieces from The Museum of Modern Art, on view until September 4, features more than 100 works from the unparalleled collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) by the legendary artists whose drips, splatters, and fields of incredible colour catapulted New York to the centre of the international art world in the 1950s and changed the course of art history forever.

“MoMA’s collection of Abstract Expressionist works is not only unparalleled, it is defining. To be the only international art museum to be given the opportunity to share the highlights of this collection is a tremendous honour,” says Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO’s Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO. “From the wild abandon of Pollock to the distilled emotion of Rothko, this exhibition comprises a group of artists who responded to the seismic shifts of the 20th century with revolutionary innovation and visionary insight, changing the way we view art and, in turn, changing our world. We are so pleased that our visitors will be able to take in these essential and inspiring masterworks.”

“We are delighted to be able to share this exhibition with the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Museum of Modern Art has long and deep ties with the AGO, and I, of course, have a very personal one, and I can think of no better exhibition than Abstract Expressionist New York to reaffirm our admiration for what the AGO has achieved over the years, and especially since its reopening in 2008,” says Glenn Lowry, Director of MoMA. “These masterworks reflect MoMA’s preeminent collection of Abstract Expressionism, and include not only the most important and well-known works, but also key works by lesser-known artists such as Norman Lewis and William Baziotes. Taken together they provide an extraordinary overview of Abstract Expressionism in New York and a unique insight into one of the most important American art movements of the 20th century.”

Abstract Expressionist New York is drawn entirely from MoMA’s collection of works by the pioneers of Abstract Expressionism, from its beginnings in the 1940s through its zenith in the 1950s and 1960s. The exhibition features works across a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, drawings, and photographs, including 12 era-defining works by Pollock, and multiple works by Rothko, Motherwell, de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Barnett Newman, Louise Bourgeois, Philip Guston, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, David Smith, and others.

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