Gary Garrels, chief curator and deputy director of exhibitions and public programs, Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles
Like many artists in the early 1960s, Marden struggled to find a way out of Abstract Expressionism, which had dominated art making for a decade. While he often was associated with Minimalism, which emerged along with Pop art, his work retained an interest in the traditional, handmade character of painting and in emotional expression. Exhibition curator Garrels presents the historical origins of Marden’s work and discusses the development of the artist’s 40-year career.