40 yrs ago: EM's first international exhibition
Elizabeth Murray’s first international exhibition opened February 15, 1980 at Galerie Mukai, Tokyo. Image: Geijutsu Shinchō, (April 1980)
40 years ago Galerie Mukai held the first international solo exhibition of the work of Elizabeth Murray at its gallery in Tokyo. The exhibition ran February 15 to March 16, 1980.
According to installation images, the tightly curated exhibition featured three paintings and a framed drawing. Two of the paintings, Twist of Fate (1979) and Pine (1979), were part of a series—variations on a shape of a cross. All similarly sized, there were four paintings in the series and they mark the earliest singular occurrence of Murray working within a series. All four cross-shaped paintings were likely completed in the late fall of 1979 (Twist of Fate is dated verso December 1979).
Pine, 1979
Oil on canvas
50 1/2 x 51 1/2 in (128.3 x 130.8 cm)
Exhibited at Galerie Mukai, 1980
“By the mid- and late-1970s,” wrote the curator Richard Marshall in his essay for the exhibition “American Art Since 1970” at the Whitney Museum in 1984, “painting had moved further away from the confines of the Minimalist approach—even from a negative reaction to it—and the artists [Jennifer Bartlett, Vija Celmins, Lois Lane, Neil Jenney, Bill Jensen and Elizabeth Murray] inaugurated new ways to treat subject matter and meaning […] there emerged a move against an insular, elitist attitude towards art and what it is, should be, or must be […] artists began to look at more diverse visual repertory: commercial art, advertising, fashion, television and movies, popular culture, the decorative arts, rugs, religion, ancient artifacts, and Middle Eastern Cultures.”
This move was particularly true of Murray who explained that at the time, “I was reading books about Gestalt therapy and I was reading a lot about Zen at the time,” Murray told poet Greg Masters in 1987, “Very briefly, I got involved in Japanese Buddhism and Za-Zen. That was the spiritual thing in a way that was an influence to it but it was also very much from just looking at the Minimalists.” Murray sought to personalize her art. “I really needed something to settle me down and some kind of a plate to put this stuff on.” She realized that she had “a real desire for structure and for order. But also the chaos of the feelings feels like the thing that has to be in there. I think it’s totally emotional. For the emotions to be seen you have to have a format.”
April 1980 edition of Geijutsu Shinchō featuring an article on Murray’s exhibition at Galerie Mukai. Courtesy Murray-Holman Family Archives, New York
The April 1980 issue the Japanese monthly art magazine, Geijutsu Shinchō, published an article with statements by Murray on the occasion of her exhibition at Galerie Mukai. The article offers a unique perspective on Murray’s work and influences from an Eastern philosophical perspective.
The article is reproduced here in its entirety translated from Japanese by Naho Sakemi, with addition assistance from Midori Yamamura.
Newcomer
New York’s New Wave, Elizabeth Murray
From the 1960s to the early ‘70s, the New York art world flourished as the center of contemporary art. The iconic artists, such as Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol, emerging from the scene. However, by the latter half of the 1970s, such artistic impetus drastically declined. Its latest trends have been reported in our World Column section, but introduction of systemic new works is nearly non-existing. In this sense, Galerie Mukai’s series of exhibitions that focuses on the newcomers those may lead the ‘80s New York art scene was very timely. (Feb. 15-Mar. 15)
Its first edition opened with Elizabeth Murray exhibition; a female painter turning 40 this year. The New York Times music critic Harold Schonberg described recent trends in the American music world as a rise of new romanticism. This can probably be said for the world of painting. If I were to describe Elizabeth Murray’s painting in one word, it would be uniqueness; the mobility of her free spirit that tries to be flexible. Darkness and confinement are almost nonexistent in her paintings. Instead, the bold color scheme and dynamic form illuminates a sense of freedom.
What makes Murray’s style different from other established painters? For example, Murray made a comment on our featured guest Sol LeWitt; “He is a good painter. But he lacks versatility.” In her interview, she repeatedly spoke about the purity and simplicity as the direction of her pursuit in painting; the so-called minimal art and conceptual art can be said no different for these points. However, the pursuit in existing art became too intellectual. It resultantly became increasingly inorganic, almost the level of choking. By contrast, although this may seem obvious, Murray believes in painting at a level where the mind and emotion become one that complement each other.
Here, Murray spoke about Kiyomizu-dera (a prestigious temple built on a cliff in Kyoto). “The cliff supporting the stage has a strictly mathematical structure, yet when you look at the roof, there lay a beautiful curve. As such, art has to be flexible and versatile.” The Japanese style of stripping off extraneous detail to reach the prototype, in a sense, is abstract. As a self-proclaimed abstract artist, Murray fell in love with this aspect of Japan. She claims “Influence from Japanese and African art may have changed European art from the roots. Japan has a deep understanding of what it takes to be abstract. Within a very pure and simple shape, there’s emotion. For example, even this sake container in front of us…” As she continues to speak, she pointed out things we as Japanese cannot fully comprehend or see. However, if you believe, you can see what you want to see, and we could at least emphasize with that spirit of hers.
The shaped canvas trend is recently noticeable, and again, Murray has a different approach from, for example, that of Stella. Murray says, however morphed Stella’s canvases are, there always is a center. On the other hand, she claims everything in her painting has an equal value. Using a shaped canvas gives both control and freedom than regular canvas, when deciding its shape, the shaped canvas’s variety of facets yield direction that gives dynamism to the painting.
Finally, she said New York is the perfect place for Murray to explore her way of expression. A small island called Manhattan is full of energy, always stimulus. Manhattan is alive, feeding the creativity of artists. It’s different from the agitated atmosphere Paris gives off. From her confident tone, we could feel her extraordinary confidence as a rising artist in New York.
Original Text
６０年代から７０年初めにかけてのニューヨーク美術界は、ジャスパージョーンズ、アンディーウォーホールなど、多くの秀れた作家を産んで、現代美術の中心をなしていた。それが７０年代も後半になると、その勢いは急速に衰え、最新の動向となると本誌ワールドコラムなどでわずかに情報を伝えられる事はあっても、系統だった作品紹介は皆無に等しい状態だった。その意味で、今回ギャルリームカイが、８０年代のニューヨーク美術界をリードしていくであろう新鋭たちをいくとが続けて紹介していこうとする企画は、大変時宣に適っていた。
その第一陣として展覧会を開いたのは、エリザベスマレイという、今年４０歳になる女流画家である。ニューヨークタイムスの音楽評論家、ハロルドショーンバーグが最近のアメリカの作曲界の傾向を評して、ニューロマンティシズムの台頭といっていたが、これは絵についてもいえるのではないか。エリザベスマレイの絵を見て感ずるのは、ー口で言えば個性的であろう、フレキシブルであろうという精神の伸びやかな運動性である。その思い切った色彩の配合といい、ダイナミックなフォルムの処理といい、彼女の絵から明るさとか開放感は感じられても、暗く窮屈な感じは少しもない。
その辺の事情を他の既成の画家及び画風と比べてみたらどうなるか。例えば今回ゲストで取り上げたソルルウィットにつての彼女のコメントは「彼はいい画家です。でも融通生がなさすぎる」。インタビュー中彼女は、自分の絵が求める方向として常に純粋さと単純さということを繰り返し語っていたが、いわゆるミニマルアート、コンセプチュアルアートもその点に関しては変わりないと言えるだろう。しかし今までのアートはそれを余りにも知的に求めすぎた結果、どんどん無機的になり、息苦しいものになっていった。それに対して彼女は当たり前のことのようだが、もっと思考と感情が一致し、相補うようなレベルで絵を描かなくてはならないと思うという。
ここで彼女は清水寺の話をして、「舞台を支える懸崖の所は数学的な厳しい構造をしているのに、屋根に眼を移すと美しいカーブを描いている。芸術とはそのようにフレキシブルでバラエティがなくてはいけない」。余計なものをはぎとって、ものごとの原型に迫ろうとする動きを抽象という意味で、自分を抽象作家という彼女はことのほか日本が気に入ったようで、「日本とアフリカの芸術がヨーロッパの芸術を根底から変えたのではないか。日本こそ抽象をよく理解している。非常に純粋で単純な形の中に、しかも心がある。例えば眼の前のこおトックリにしたって。。。」と話が進んでいくと、我々日本人としてはしっくりしない面も出てくる。だが、人は見たいものを見ると思えば、少なくとも彼女の精神の動きはよく分かるのだ。
変形キャンバスの流行も最近著しいが、これも彼女にすれば、例えばステラのものとは違う。彼女がいうにすれば、ステラのキャンバス変形されていても、常に中心がある。それに対して自分の絵は全てが等価である。変形キャンバスを使うのも、普通のキャンバスで描くより、まず自分がキャンバスの形を決めるということからして遥かに自由が与えられれ、変形キャンバスの多様な面が生み出す方向性が、絵にダイナミズムを与えるからだ。
そして最後に、こうした表現活動をするのに今ニューヨークに住むのはとても具合がいいと彼女はいった。マンハッタンという小さな島の中にエネルギーが充満していて、常に刺激がある。生活が、芸術がそこで活々と営まれ、パリのように浮足だった所がないからだ。そういい切る彼女の語調からは、ニューヨークの新しい作家としての並々ならく自負が窺えた。
Special thanks to Naho Sakemi and Midori Yamamura for their valuable assistance in providing context and translation.