Spheres of AbEx - Heather James Fine Art

MICHAEL LOEW (1907-1985) was one of the major proponents ofAbstract Expressionism and influenced by the Neo-Plasticism of Mondrian.Despite their opposing approaches to abstraction, he became a longtimefriend of Willem de Kooning, whom he met completing WPA projectsduring the 1930s. Although Loew began his Neo-Plasticist mode duringthe 1940s, it was the 50s that brought the full development of his maturestyle. After World War II, Loew studied with Hans Hofmann and cultivatedhis sensibility for color effects. He used the grid-structure of Mondrianas a base from which to experiment with the possibilities of the palette;to focus on subtle transitions of tone or harmony of color relationships.Drawing inspiration from life, he transformed subjects into unique patternsof rectangles or color fields, naming the final composition according to thedominant colors. He exhibited these works at the Stable Gallery annuals,beginning a full and successful exhibition career.In 1957, Loew participated in the International Association of PlasticArts Touring Exhibition, Contemporary American Painting as juror andexhibitor. Here he exhibited alongside Milton Avery, Samuel Adler, JosefAlbers, de Kooning, Reinhardt, Walkowitz and others. The same yearhe gained representation at Zabriskie Gallery, next to Johns, Motherwell,and Rauschenberg. A recognized pillar of American Modernism, Loewmaintained an active teaching and exhibition schedule until his death in1985.