The Guggenheim Museum has a very different exhibit of the paintings of Agnes Martin.  “Different” in that Martin eliminated any referential subject matter in her art.  Her work is serene paintings composed of grids and stripes.

Sometimes the stripes are wide, sometimes narrow.  The colors are very pale except in the case of her “gray” paintings in which the canvas is painted gray and you have to look closely to see the stripes on the grid.  Her style is elegant and economical.

Many of her canvases are large–six-foot square and there is a definite serenity in her work.  There is an emphasis on emotion complemented by the hand-made lines in her paintings.  Martin is commited to exploring the horizontal line, vertical line and their relationship to a square canvas.

Her work is fascinating.  I highly recommend the exhibit.

Agnes Martin is on view at the Guggenheim Museum through January 11, 2017. For tickets and more information about related programs, visit the calendar.

Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a publicity agency in Manhattan.  She may be reached at silverbergm@mindspring.com.