fbpx
Adolph Gottlieb
Crimson Spinning, 1959

Artwork Info

Artwork title
Crimson Spinning
Artist name
Adolph Gottlieb
Date created
1959
Classification
painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
92 in. × 68 in. (233.68 cm × 172.72 cm)
Credit
The Doris and Donald Fisher Collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Copyright
© Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc. / Licensed by VAGA at ARS, New York
Permanent URL
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/FC.295
Artwork status
On view on floor 4 as part of Freeform: Experiencing Abstraction

Audio Stories

On Gottlieb’s big bursts of color

Show TranscriptHide Transcript

transcripts

SFX: Music

 

NARRATOR: Which part of this painting grabs your attention first?

 

SFX: More music

 

NARRATOR: Is it the red circle, slightly flattened, softly blurred at the edges? Does it look serene? Or threatening?

 

SFX: More music

 

NARRATOR: Maybe you’re drawn to the unruly black mass sprawling over the bottom. Does it suggest a kind of energy, or a mood?

 

Adolph Gottlieb painted this work in 1959. It’s from a series he called the Bursts. Here he is talking about them.

 

ADOLPH GOTTLIEB: These were sort of extremes, which I felt had no connection with each other but I had a feeling that I could make them cohere in some way. And curiously enough, they did.

 

NARRATOR: Gottlieb tried to eliminate all the traditional ways to make a painting come together, and just let these abstract shapes do the work.

 

GOTTLIEB: See, I never understand why my paintings hold together because I don’t have any tricks for doing it. If the things fall into place, that is what I feel they should do. You see, what it really is, is something you have in yourself that makes you feel, it gives the painting a feeling of unity, of oneness, and being all of one piece.

Read MoreCollapse

Other Works by Adolph Gottlieb

Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times. If you are planning a visit to SFMOMA to see a specific work of art, we suggest you contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to confirm it will be on view.

Only a portion of SFMOMA's collection is currently online, and the information presented here is subject to revision. Please contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to verify collection holdings and artwork information. If you are interested in receiving a high resolution image of an artwork for educational, scholarly, or publication purposes, please contact us at copyright@sfmoma.org.

This resource is for educational use and its contents may not be reproduced without permission. Please review our Terms of Use for more information.