작품 상세

Robert Gordy (American/Louisiana, 1933-1986), "Head (RGE-120)", c. 1982-1986, mixed media on canvas, unsigned, inscribed "RGE-120" lower edge, 49 1/2 in. x 38 in., framed. Provenance: Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, Nov. 15, 1995. Note: Robert Gordy is best known for combination of both decorative and narrative elements in a flat pictorial space, which include a repetition of shapes in similarly-hued colors. Prior to 1981, the artist would occasionally paint a strong central figure, but these were not a dominant feature in his work. Following his 1981 retrospective at the New Orleans Museum of Art, Gordy began to experiment with a looser, more direct style that featured the head as his main subject matter, ultimately completing an exciting new body of work. Realized in a variety of media, the heads have a three-dimensionality and painterly quality not previously seen Gordy?s paintings, with a heightened sense of tension through careful cropping of the image. In the large-scale work offered here, the geometric planes of the face combined with the artist?s visible brushstrokes create a visual patterning in almost transparent washes of color that is particularly successful.