MFA "Gestures" to American Art

“American Gestures”—an exhibition that opened on Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts and is composed of Abstract Expressionist drawings, prints, paintings, and sculptures from the late 1940s to 1970s—is an opportunity for the public to appreciate the scope of the MFA’s expanding collection. Many of the pieces are new to the MFA and will be exhibited for the first time.

“This exhibition will let the New England community know that we have a collection of Abstract Expressionist artworks,” says Clifford S. Ackley, the curator of “American Gestures” and the Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Curator of Prints and Drawing. “We have been collecting Abstract Expressionist artworks for 40 years…. We wanted people to know that we have these works. Many of these works have not been frequently exhibited, or ever,” he says. The exhibition was created by the MFA Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, of which Ackley is chair. The exhibition displays works by Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, David Smith, Mark Tobey, Alfred Leslie, Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and a number of others.

Although Abstract Expressionism is thought of as having spanned from the 1940s to 1950s, the exhibition will go beyond that time period to include works like Robert Motherwell’s, whose paintings and prints were influenced by the movement. According to Ackley, the movement was not a spontaneous artistic phase but was actually had a precedent in the work of European surrealists in New York during World War II. These writers primarily created fiction and drawings. The exhibition’s artworks are arranged in such a way that they invite comparisons with one another.

“There are a lot of interesting juxtapositions going on in the exhibition. For example, there is a David Smith drawing about de Kooning, and next to that is a lithograph by de Kooning from 1960. It is all about the visual relationships,” he says. The name of the exhibition, “American Gestures,” alludes to the importance of Abstract Expressionism to America. “It was the first American contemporary style that invaded Europe. It was recognized as particularly an original American phenomenon that quickly became an international style,” Ackley says. Ackley predicts that the show will likely elicit strong positive and negative reactions from the audience.

The works in this school of art can appear random and done without much thought, but Ackley disagrees with that interpretation. “It [the movement] is not an accident, it really is a style,” he says. “The movement is irritating to some people because it is messy and spontaneous, and people say ‘I can do it,’ but I think the exhibition encourages you to take it seriously as a style.” The exhibition will be on display through June 1. There will be a gallery talk entitled “American Gestures: Abstract Expressionism” on October 20 at the Sharf Visitor Center.