Altered Scapes
“Do not copy nature too much. Art is abstraction” Paul Gauguin
The artist's job is one of expression and communication. Engagement with the land can provoke a variety of emotional reactions—artists explore these experiences with abstract uses of color, shape, and subject. Each artwork in the following section represents a different interpretation of the land, ranging from loose representational to completely abstracted experimental approaches.
Chen Chi, Chinese American, 1912-2005, A Man Walking In Snow, 1977 26.2" X 26.6" Watercolor On Paper, The Madden Collection 2016.1.13
Plinio Nomellini, Italian, 1866-1943 Figura Del Bosco (Girl In A Forest), 1910 38.7" X 50.7" Oil On Canvas, The Madden Collection 2016.1.52
The use of abstract color and line made by the layered application of the paint, mimic a representational landscape but utilize abstraction of expression to depict a feeling of inviting warmth. The oldest artwork of the section, Nomellini’s artwork represents a transitory moment to the full abstraction realized later in the 20th century.
Gregory Mirow for Steuben Glass Works, American, founded 1903 - active until 2011, Spreading Pines, 1973, Etched glass, The Madden Collection at the University of Denver, 2016.1.134.
M. Galan, (Artist Dates Unknown), Untitled, 1975 22" X 28" Ink On Paper, University Of Denver Art Collections 1993.124.7
Upon first glance, this marbled spread does not seem like a landscape. But with closer viewing, a horizon line emerges stretching across the page. The dramatic swirls above could be mountains or clouds, while the swirls below could mimic a reflection in the water. But such a reading is only an example--M. Galan presents us with a landscape wonderfully open to interpretation, revealing the subjectivity that is at the heart of abstract art.
Andy Warhol, American, 1928-1987, Camouflage, 1987 38" X 38" Print, University Of Denver Art Collections 2013.006.7
This screen print by famed Pop-artist, Andy Warhol, exhibits the way in which artists and society express landscapes abstractly through camouflage. Pop artists commonly challenge established traditions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture. Warhol uses the camouflage pattern as an emulation of the land, just as a "transitional landscape" but departs from a representational style by presenting the land in intense, contrasting colors.
Chen Chi, Chinese American , 1912-2005 Redwoods, 1968 72.2" X 36.5" Watercolor On Paper, The Madden Collection 2016.1.9