Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue? A Homage to Barnett Newman
Alfonso Fratteggiani Bianchi, Nicholas Bodde, Nikola Dimitrov, Bim Koehler, Maria Lalić, Matt McClune, Harald Pompl, Robert Sagerman, Regine Schumann, Lars Strandh
Preview: Thursday, Sept. 5th from 6 to 8 pm
Vernissage: Friday, Sept. 6th from 6 to 9 pm
Special opening hours during Open Art Munich Gallery Weekend:
Saturday, Sept. 7th and Sunday, Sept. 8th from 11 am to 6 pm
Exhibition at Galerie Renate Bender, Munich
September 6th to October 27th, 2024
Barnett Newman’s series of four paintings “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue” (I, II, III & IV, 1966–70) is a major work of Abstract Expressionism. The size alone of these color field paintings magnifies the effect of the primary colors – red, yellow and blue – on the viewer. The series also represents an act of liberation from an artistic dogma prevalent since the 1920s of basing artistic principles on primary colors in the manner of a Piet Mondrian, for example, which is alluded to in the humorous title.
The acquisition of the four versions of this “once-in-a century” work of art by large and important collections and museums, such as the Stedelijk Museum or the Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, led to an uproar in the 1980s; two of the paintings were even damaged in attacks. The meanwhile iconic title, which refers to Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1962), has itself provided inspiration in the past few decades for composers, film directors and visual artists.
Whether inspired by the size alone of the “big canvas,” which grew from version to version (number IV measures an impressive 274.3 × 604.5 cm) or by the primary colors, red, yellow and blue – we have invited, on the occasion of the Open Art Munich Gallery Weekend 2024, ten artists of our gallery to present a work of art for our homage to the great Barnett Newman.