Robert Motherwell at the National Gallery of Australia

By Benjamen Judd

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For those with a bent for the more artistic kind of activity then Canberra in July is turning out to be the month to visit! Such as the latest exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia involving the incredible work of Abstract Expressionist painter, Robert Motherwell, At Five in the Afternoon.

“One thing that has made Motherwell stand apart from many other artists in the Abstract Expressionist movement was that he also became an accomplished printmaker. This was in contrast to many of the older generation of Abstract Expressionist artists, including Jackson Pollock, who considered the production of ‘painterly prints’ to be more or less impossible. Achieving the spontaneous gesture and freshness of expression, which were hallmarks of the style, was at odds with the production of prints, which was often codified and stratified and tied to a schedule of process. Yet somehow Motherwell was able to harness etching and later lithography and translate them into a means of his own creativity.

For Motherwell making prints became a way of liberating his activity in the studio, achieving gestural flourishes and layering disparate elements to form refined compositions.”

At Five in the Afternoon shows Motherwell at his best – a collection of work that combines the elements that he so loved from painting and print. In his explorations in print, Motherwell was able to constantly revisit, recycle and re-edit his compositions with certain independence. This was in contrast with the immense battle the artist faced in painting, where he struggled with ‘new points of attack’, which left their traces evident as pentimentilike ‘corpses on a battle-field’.

At Five in the Afternoon is showing at the National Gallery of Australia from July 12 until October 6.