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Published by

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation,

New York, 1975
Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 75-689
© The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1975
Printed in the United States

Pumpkin Plum. 1970; 1973 cat. no. 13

 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
President Peter O. Lawson-Johnston

Trustees H. H.Arnason, Eleanor Countess Castle Stewart,

Joseph W. Donner, Mason Welch Gross, Eugene
W. Leake, Frank R. Milliken, Henry Allen Moe,
A. Chauncey Newlin, Mrs. Henry Obre, Daniel
Catton Rich, Albert E. Thiele, Michael F. Wettach.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Director Thomas M. Messer

Stall Henry Berg, Deputy Director

Linda Konheim, Program Administrator; Agnes R.
Connolly, Auditor; Susan L. Halper, Administrative
Assistant; Eric Siegeltuch, Assistant for Manage-
ment; Vanessa Jalet, Secretary to the Director;
Darrie Hammer, Information.

Louise Averill Svendsen, Curator; Diane Waldman,

Curator of Exhibitions; Margit Rowell, Curator of
Special Exhibitions; Angelica Zander Rudenstine,
Research Curator; Linda Shearer, Assistant
Curator; Carol Fuerstein, Editor; Mary Joan Hall,
Librarian; Ward Jackson, Archivist; Sabine
Rewald, Coordinator.

Anne B. Grausam, Public Affairs Officer; Miriam

Emden, Members' Representative; Carolyn
Porcelli, Coordinator.

Orrin Riley, Conservator; Lucy Belloli, Assistant

Conservator; David Roger Anthony, Registrar;
Elizabeth M. Funghini, Cherie A. Summers,
Assistant Registrars; Robert E. Mates, Photog-
rapher; Dana Cranmer, Technical Manager.
Peter G. Loggin, Building Superintendent; Guy
Fletcher, Jr., Assistant Building Superintendent;
Charles F. Banach, Head Guard.
Aaron Karp, Operations Supervisor; Saul
Fuerstein, Preparator; Lome Swarthout,
Carpenter; Hiram Lewis, Installation Specialist.
 Marcel Boulois, Paris

Rosalind Constable, Sante Fe, New Mexico

Paula Cooper, New York
Ugo Ferranti, Rome
Dr. and Mrs. R. J. Fusillo, Atlanta

Joyce Hoppner and Peter Hoppner, New York

X Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Howard, New York
Nancy Gillespie Jennings, New York
Lewis Kaplan, London

JackH. Klein
Brice Marden, New York
Helen Harrington Marden, New York
Robert Rauschenberg, New York
DC Dr. and Mrs. Stacy A. Roback, Edina, Minnesota
LU
Q Paul F. Walter

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo

The Fort Worth Art Museum

The Michener Collection, The University of Texas
at Austin

Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich

Bykert Gallery, New York

Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis

Gian Enzo Sperone, Inc., New York

New York, 1974
 I would like to thank the many people who have
assisted me with the preparation of this exhibition
and catalogue. Klaus Kertess and Mary Boone of
Hi the Bykert Gallery, Konrad Fischer, Yvon Lambert,
Gordon Locksley and George Shea, and Gian
HI Enzo Sperone have all been extremely helpful. The
O critic, Roberta Smith, who is writing the catalogue
Q raisonne on Marden, supplied me with much
LU detailed information, in addition to carefully read-
-I
ing the catalogue text.

Much of the Guggenheim Museum's staff con-

o tributed a great deal of time and effort, especially
Carol Fuerstein, the Editor, who oversaw every
aspect of the catalogue with great and insight,
o and Diane Waldman, the Curator
skill

< who graciously read the text and

of Exhibitions,

made valuable
suggestions. I would also like to express my
gratitude to Thomas Hut who provided valuable
assistance on the preliminary stages of both the
catalogue and exhibition.
I am extremely indebted to Paul F. Walter for his
generous contribution in support of the exhibition.
The success of this exhibition, like any other,
depends in large part upon the cooperation of the

lenders, to whom I extend my sincere thanks.

I am, of course, most particularly grateful to
Brice Marden, whose remarkable patience and
enthusiasm has made the experience of working
with him a truly rewarding one.

L.S.
View of Jefferson Street studio, New York, 1966
 CO

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Color — that's a matter of taste and sensitivity. For example, you have to have something to say;

without that, goodnight! You aren't a painter unless you love painting more than anything else.

And then, it's not enough just to know your trade; you have to be moved. Science is all very

well, but for us, don't you see, imagination is more important ....

Edouard Manet 1

<
Brice Marden has consistently professed and acknowledged his ties with traditional
painting. He sees himself, like Manet, combining and balancing a modern sensibility

with earlier sources, and he is, above The earlier artists he ad-
all else, a painter.

mires most are the Spanish painters — Goya, Zurbaran, Velasquez— along with Cour-
bet, Manet and Cezanne. Of course, like most artists of his generation, he felt the

impact of the Abstract Expressionists as well. But, one might well ask, how and where
does this admiration show itself in his work? His paintings and drawings seem, at

first, singularly composition-less, uniform, rigid and limited, and indeed they are
characterized by an extreme visual constraint. This is not, however, to suggest that
they lack aesthetic complexity.
An intriguing and important aspect of his work is that each word chosen to de-

scribe it almost inevitably suggests qualification by its opposite. Most critics are
sensitive to this semantic difficulty: for example, "While Marden's paintings clearly
show an impetus toward literalness and uniformity, his work has never been as cool
or impersonal as strictly reductive art." 2 Rather than simply a failure of language, it

is indeed this central contradiction which distinguishes Marden's reductive style:

the obvious formal austerity of his work is consistently offset by a surprising emo-
tional impact.

Although most of his studio courses at Boston University were devoted to an in-

tense study of the figure, it was at Yale, as a graduate student from 1961 to 1963, that
he established the major formal and expressive priorities and objectives which he
has maintained and continues to develop today. In same way, the written portion
the
of his Master's thesis reflects many of the thoughts he now articulates about his
 work. He became preoccupied with the confines of the rectangle, and it was at this

time that he began to restrict and define his approach both structurally and colorist-
ically. Vertical and horizontal subdivisions of the surface ("I became aware of an
underlying rectilinear structure which constantly reappeared" 3 were reinforced by )

a subdued palette. Before arriving at Yale, his ideas about color had been confused
by a course at Boston University based on Albers' color theories which, he claims, he
simply had not understood. As a result, he shied away, until recently, from the com-
monly accepted notions of color, although, ironically, now his work is frequently
most admired for its unusual and unnameable color. It is perhaps because of Mar-
den's attraction to a limited palette that Kline especially appealed to him (he was the
only Abstract Expressionist Marden cited in his thesis): Kline had achieved a remark-
able emotional and visual intensity using only black and white. Marden's interest in

Kline led him to an awareness of the Spanish painters by way of Manet. Soon Marden
related more to earlier artists (particularly to the earth colors of the Spaniards) and
felt he was rejecting an Abstract Expressionist approach to color. But, as he explains
it now, he did not realize then that the Abstract Expressionists were using color in as
subtle a way as Manet or Goya. Witness the following section from his thesis; he
could easily have been describing either the gestural or the color aspects of Abstract
Expressionism:

At the suggestion of the mid-year jury I tried to get more of the quality of my drawings into my
paintings. This led to more exploration in the use of my materials and a loosening up of the

handling of my paint. These involvements have led me to Spanish painting. It is with them that

one finds an uncompromising reality. They were confronted with something and they faced up
to it. No embellishments except the all too rare quality of humans honestly coping with them-

selves. They did not search for "truths" but their own truth. They smack it right up in front of you
and you have to take it. Zurbaran, Velasquez and Goya are the ones who do this.*

Undoubtedly he chose the Spanish painters because their clarity and restraint ap-
pealed more to him than the dramatically personal and heroic stance of the Abstract
Expressionists.
Despite Marden's expression of affinity for early painters, his work parallels most
closely contemporary abstract art, particularly in that it relentlessly confronts the
viewer with the question of meaning— what does a Marden painting mean: what is he
trying to say? Although he is working in a reductive, non-illusionistic idiom, he does
not formulate anonymous statements. His paintings are about the larger implications
of paint applied to a two-dimensional surface; he believes in power
the expressive
of paint. And yet, many will invariably ask "is he saying enough?" His answer at
Yale was one that still applies:

10
The paintings are made in a highly subjective state within Spartan limitations. Within these

strict confines, confines which I have painted myself into and intend to explore with no regrets,

I try to give the viewer something to which he will react subjectively. I believe these are highly

emotional paintings not to be admired tor any technical or intellectual reason but to be felt. 5

As Harris Rosenstein observed in 1967 when discussing Marden, David Novros and
Paul Mogensen: "They are not throwing over painting tradition, but isolating some
essence of that tradition and attempting to live up to its possibilities." 6 And so, Mar-
den, the traditionalist — at least in intention, if not in appearance — left Yale in 1963
with the awareness that painting must 1) be expressive, 2) ask questions of itself and
of the viewer if it is to renew and regenerate that same tradition and 3) be about
painting.

We must, and I cannot say it too often, forget a thousand things, in order to understand and

enjoy this talent. It is no longer a question of searching for absolute beauty; the artist paints

neither a story nor a soul; what is generally called composition does not exist for him, and the

task he imposes upon himself is far from that of representing such-and-such an idea or his-
torical event. And for this reason we must judge him neither as a moralist nor as a man of let-

ters: we must judge him as a painter.

Emile Zola on Manet. 7

In the summer of 1963 Marden moved to New York City where he has lived ever

since. That same fall he became a guard at the Jewish Museum; their retrospective
exhibition of Jasper Johns' work, held the following spring, provided Marden with the
opportunity to study that artist in depth. Johns' paintings undoubtedly confirmed and
supported Marden in his choice of basic direction. Presenting us with an ironic

vision of our own sensibilities, Johns clearly was challenging the preconceived ideas
of what Painting was all about, forcing us back on our own definitions. In his well-

known Flag and Target paintings, Johns was able to achieve a structural and
symbolic unity between the shape of the support and the image with a directness
never before attained; Marden soon extended this kind of congruency through
purely abstract or formal means. Marden responded to this element in Johns' work
and was also extremely sensitive to his intense painterliness in surface and color.
On the other hand, he was not interested in Johns' use of three-dimensional objects
and specific symbols or his ironic play on language.
Works like Gray Numbers, 1957, and Tennyson, 1958 (reproduced, exhibition cata-
logue, The Jewish Museum, New York, 1964, nos. 20, 32), are close to Marden be-
cause of their overall formal structure. Marden's innate preference for monotones

11
 and grays was reinforced by the example of Johns' creation of remarkable tension
within a relatively static, flat, two-dimensional monotone painting. Faced with the
problem of activating the immobile and dense surface of his paintings without resort-

ing to a decorative solution, he adopted one of Johns' techniques: he drew a line

Vi to 1 inch above the bottom of the canvas, below which he did not apply paint.
He did, however, allow the paint to drip below this line. Marden incorporated this

margin into his paintings from 1964 to 1968 (see cat. nos. 2-7) when he expanded his

format from one to two and three-panel works and no longer needed the painterly
reference the line provided.
In these early works of Marden's, the drips in the margins, in addition to enlivening
the inert and passive surface, call attention to the process involved in the creation of
the painting, by recording the many layers of pigment. These layers, in turn, convey
a feeling of the artist's ponderous pace. As one becomes increasingly aware of the

painting's temporal evolution, a sense of time is introduced. And, as one comes to

recognize the time involved in the making of the work, one simultaneously experi-
ences the time involved in the perception of the painting. Although each picture can
be seen as a totality at a glance, in Marden's work, as in much reductive art, the per-
ceptual process, like the painting procedure, is extremely slow. As Lucy R. Lippard
said in relation to Ad Reinhardt: "A monotonal painting, exists, more than most, in

time, for it takes time merely to perceive it as a painting or surface, and not as a sculp-
tural object or silhouette." 8 But Marden was sensitive to this time factor well before
he saw the Johns show or had painted pure monotone work. In speaking of Manet's
Street Singer, ca. 1 862, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, he wrote "I saw the warm
umber and the color fell into place, it became a total color sensation. Each part built
towards this total which came slowly, as if being mysteriously revealed. I try for this

in my work." 9
From Johns he also learned the great potential of the seemingly limited grid struc-
ture. was one approach to the point by point articulation of the sur-
This grid structure
face which concerned both artists. Marden has said that Johns' grids, rather than

those of Agnes Martin and Robert Ryman, were directly inspirational to him. In a work
like Gray Numbers (cited above) Johns varied the strict uniformity of the grid with

numbers, myriad tones of gray and expressive brushwork. Marden applied what he
had absorbed from Johns' grid paintings to works of limiting format other than grid

paintings (although he did many grid drawings, he produced only one true grid paint-
ing, Untitled, 1964-65, cat. no. 2). It should not be forgotten, his work at Yale was
largely based on vertical and horizontal divisions of the rectangle, so his interest in

the grid format was part of a natural evolution. In fact, throughout his career, his
progress has been a consistent and deliberate development, marked by almost mi-

12
nute variation from painting to painting, within the strictly defined limits he has set
for himself.

After the Johns show, Marden went to Paris for the first time. There he restricted his
activity to drawing, in which he concentrated on breaking down the planar surfaces
with grids. After his return to New York that fall, he made his first one-color work,
which resulted from painting out an unresolved grid on one half of the canvas. He
began to be disturbed by the reflective surfaces of the oil paint he had been using;
"you simply could not see the picture" sufficiently. 10 Pair's (cat. no. 3) oil and varnish
surface is an example of the shiny quality to which he objected. After much thought
about how to dull the finish, his friend, the painter Harvey Quaytman, suggested mix-
ing beeswax with oil, a solution which produced exactly the mat, opaque surface and
increased physicality Marden wanted. He developed a method of combining the wax
with oil which he applies in layers with a brush, laboriously reworking each layer with
a painting spatula and knife until he is satisfied. The process further enhances the
inherent physicality of the material by creating a surface which is marked by subtle
imperfections and gestures made by the movement of the implement. Although Johns
had also used wax encaustic, Marden's use of wax is not directly traceable to him,

except perhaps as a subliminal influence.

A comparison between Marden's individual paintings reveals variations in surface
texture. In paintings of approximately the same time the difference is slight and of

little consequence, but when the earlier paintings are considered in relation to the

more recent ones, it becomes clear that some of the former are often softer and more
luminescent, while the latter appear harder and far less porous. Not only is attention
again focused on the physicality of the surface, but also on the process. The implica-
tions of these texture distinctions are significant. Lacking a formula which assures
the uniformity of his oil-wax mixture, Marden must modify his technique of applica-
tion with each successive layer of paint on the canvas. What must at first appear to

be a disadvantage inherent in the unpredictable amalgam of oil and hot wax becomes
an aesthetic asset which produces brushstrokes, line and even a kind of drawing on
the canvas. It is perhaps in this intuitive approach to process that he relates to the
Abstract Expressionists, as opposed to the more programmatic approach of the
Minimalists. This does not mean, of course, that Marden is an Abstract Expressionist,
but rather suggests that he shares certain aspects of the Abstract Expressionist
sensibility, which in turn link him to the "Post-Minimalist" generation.
Moving toward a formal equalization of the importance of color, shape and surface
in each painting, Marden was soon able to achieve this elusive balance, without using

traditional compositional means. Except for the narrow horizontal band, real drawing
was non-existent in these works; the canvas edges however function as line and serve

13
 as the sole definition of the overall shape. The canvas shape, as well as color and sur-
face, is crucial in Marden's painting. 11 Shape, of course, has always played a signif-

icant role in painting: in traditional figurative or abstract art, this overall shape is

important in relation to the forms on the canvas. However, for Marden, in whose work
there are no painted forms, the shape of the canvas assumes even greater impor-
tance because it is the only shape. The lack of internal forms and images compels a
closer examination of the painted plane, its surface and the shape which contains
them. It is in this way that Marden's work can be seen as a further development of
Pollock's all-over painting in which composition and balancing of form was elimi-
nated, as well as a continuation of the 20th-century tradition of achieving and affirm-
ing the flatness of the picture plane. "As a painter I believe in the indisputability of
The Plane" 12 and "the image becomes the plane." He uses neither a "depicted" nor
"literal" shape, to use Michael Fried's terms: his image becomes the plane.
Marden had established equivalence between color, surface and shape, and had
brought his canvas to its most reductive state by 1965. He could not subdivide a work
of this kind internally without fragmenting its unity. In order to combine colors and
shapes and not violate the indivisible quality of his canvas, it was necessary to de-

velop an entirely new format. Pair, 1965, is an example of his first solution to this

problem. It consists of two 18-inch unjoined canvases placed two inches apart from
each other; they are juxtaposed, yet still separate. Because of the interaction be-
tween the wall and the canvases, the piece assumes a certain object-quality which
had its precedent in Johns' relief-like Targets and Flags. However, the concept of
combining units which are equal to each other in all respects aligns him with the
Minimalists. But Marden did not pursue the quasi-sculptural implications of Pair
again until He was, and is, first and foremost, a painter.
1 967.
Marden had his first one-man show in New York at the Bykert Gallery in the fall of
1966. All the paintings in the show were horizontal and monochrome. Some are con-
siderably larger than his earlier work; for example, The Dylan Painting (cat. no. 4)
measures 5 by 10 feet. He feels that this canvas, although actually an uninterrupted
expanse, can be thought of as two contiguous squares. It is therefore, in theory at
least, an extension of Pair. Other works in the show appear to be square, though they
are not exactly. The curious, even awkward, proportions which Marden uses, and
employs even today, contribute to a slight feeling of unease and discomfort in the
presence of his painting.

Though the canvases may seem alike in color, they all differ slightly, even minutely,
from one another. They are always subdued and somber variations of indescribable
grays, greens, slate-browns, clays, mud and putty — tones which blend and melt to-

gether as we perceive them. The heaviness of the paint layers parallels the impen-

14
 Installation view, one-man exhibition, Bykert Gallery, New York, 1966

Announcement for one-man exhibition, Back Series, Bykert Gallery, New York, 1968 15
 etrable quality of the dense color. The edges of all the works before 1966 were taped
and the painted area extended under the tape: the only open, breathing space is in

the bottom dripped margin, further emphasizing the sense of the impenetrable. The
contrast between the dense surface and the open area of the drips does not produce
a sense of spatial ambiguity: it is literally the flat painted surface juxtaposed against
the support. One is tempted to describe the color as color area, but because of the
extreme physicality of the paint and wax texture, it is more accurately characterized
as color substance.
Marden continued to restrict himself to monochrome painting and to explore its

possibilities, shifting, however, from the predominantly horizontal format of his 1966
works The seven paintings of the Back Series were included in
to a vertical one.

his next one-man show at Bykert in 1968. The prototype for the group, which had
not started as a series, is For Helen of 1967 (cat. no. 5); it is a two-panel piece, while
those in the actual series are all single paintings. Each section of the two-part piece,

meant to be placed one inch apart, is based on his wife's height of 69 inches, and
the width of her back, 17 inches. The single pictures measure 69 inches (the same
height) by 45 inches. The width of 45 inches is arbitrary and bears no mathematical
relation to the original 17 inches; the artist used these dimensions simply because
he felt they were appropriate in terms of an abstract aesthetic choice.
He introduced more color in these paintings (black, green, flesh, etc.) in an effort
to break away from the neutrality of his earlier grays. In this respect, the Back Series

represents a liberating step in his evolution. The balance between shape and color
Marden had achieved in his earlier works seemed to limit his color range: he felt that
certain canvas sizes and shapes determined the use of specific colors. He felt now
that it had become necessary to carefully and deliberately broaden the colors he
used. In the Back Series he broke away from the absolute determination of specific

color by specific shape, despite his realization that he might in this manner destroy
the intuitive Tightness of the balance of elements within each work.
Marden's Back Series brings to mind a very different treatment of the subject by

Matisse in The Back, l-IV (a cast of which is in the collection of The Museum of Mod-
ern Art, New York). Matisse's reliefs of a woman's back progress from realistic depic-

tion through abstraction to an abstracted image of the original. Although a real back
supplied the original impetus for both artists, Marden, unlike Matisse, was not
interested in an abstracted representation of the back. Indeed, he frequently uses a
specific image, such as a postcard reproduction of a painting, as a starting point, but
this image is usually retained only in the title of the work it inspires. Nonetheless,

the Back paintings, more than most, were intended to sustain the basic reference to
their original inspiration. The announcement for the Back Series exhibition, with its

16
nude photographed from the back, confirms the directness of the formal and ex-
pressive equivalence as Marden felt it. The idea of rejection — expressed at a primitive
and direct level by the turning of one person's back on another — integral to these
is

paintings.
Quotes from two reviews of this show reveal the wide range of interpretation that
his work allows: Scott Burton said "the colors, like the skin are closed; you can't look

into them, only at them. Each color holds. They are dry paintings, full of heat, and
have the arid, airless look of Spanish paintings (which Marden admires), but their
austerity is extremely romantic, and they are also very sensual and beautiful."
Gregory Battcock wrote that the paintings are "disagreeable and spurn sympathetic
consideration. In this way they are not romantic or sentimental." 13 Clearly, whether
they are romantic, sympathetic, sentimental or austere, they project, in an emphatic
and moving way, a very real sense of alienation.

The alienation and rejection expressed in the Back Series in particular, and, the
austerity of Marden's paintings in general, recall Ad Reinhardt, many of whose stated
ideas are like Marden's own. The parallels with Marden are obvious in the Reinhardt
who said:

The one work for a fine artist now, the one thing in painting to do, is to repeat the one-size-
canvas — the single-scheme, one-colour-monochrome, one linear-division in each direction,

one symmetry, one texture, one formal device, one free-hand brushing, one rhythm, one work-
ing everything into one overall uniformity and non-irregularity.''*

Reinhardt's all black paintings, for which he is best known, require a long time to
reveal themselves to us; like Marden's, they are quiet, but dogmatic. Reinhardt util-

izes rectangular forms which eventually become visible, creating atmospheric pic-
torial space, which is diametrically opposed to the unequivocal flatness of the

picture plane in Marden's work. Despite the dissimilarities in their work, singleminded-
ness is the most dominant characteristic shared by the two artists. Their individual
paintings seem to assert a self-containment which, at once, tends to alienate the
viewer and yet compel a sympathetic involvement.
By 1968, Marden began to make diptychs and triptychs joined vertically, each
panel a different color. The transition to panel paintings was a rather obvious one,
and yet intrinsically dangerous: he had evolved in his earlier work a coherent identity
based on the indivisible unity of the single painting. Any additional elements might
threaten the precarious equilibrium of color, surface and shape. The first two-panel
painting was made up of two discarded Back Series canvases (not in exhibition,
collection Mr. and Mrs. John Adams, Columbia, S.C.) and was joined flush; it is the
only joined panel work with a drawn line along the bottom edge, which hereafter is

17
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Installation view, one-man exhibition, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, 1969

eliminated. This device, self-conscious in its painterliness, was intended in the single
canvas paintings to broaden the expressive dimension of the reductive, imageless
surface. A conflict arose in this instance, however, for when two canvases are com-
bined, a new line is created at the vertical point of juncture. The delicate balance of
such reduced elements— color, shape, surface, and a single line— is jeopardized by
the juxtaposition of two panels, each containing a line just above the bottom edge.
Without this line, which stresses the act of the painter making the drips, the paintings

become more purely about the activity of the paint and the wax. The strength of these
new paintings is contingent on the holding power of the once separate panels, rather
than on an internal tension between the elements. The lower portion of the canvas,
still not entirely covered by paint, continues to reveal a sense of process, although
less obtrusively, because of its unfinished quality and many layers of material. The
new handling of this area, which still serves as an anchor for the work, recalls the
de Kooning-like brushwork in the lower portion of Marden's 1964 Decorative Painting
(cat. no. 1).

In the earlier Pair and For Helen, Marden had recognized that it was necessary to

separate the panels in order not to undermine the unity of each color with its panel.
When he combined two or three colors in one painting, it was clear to him that the
panels must remain physically intact and separate, yet juxtaposed so that the total
image would continue to be identified with a single plane. He worked to create paint-
ings with several similar but distinct colors as intense, uncomplicated and indivisible
as his monochrome works. Closely related to this aspect of indivisibility and sim-
plification is the disturbing fact that one does not see more and more in a Marden
(nor for that matter does one see less) as one studies it; one does, however, come to

accept its totality more and more. Douglas Crimp has observed that a "long look at

Marden's work results in no perceptual change at all. The surface remains the literal

closed plane that it first appeared to be." 15 The paintings seem to stubbornly refuse
to reveal their meaning: the observer must make the effort to penetrate their silence

and self-contained resistance. While a perceptual change does not occur, an emo-
tional one does; this contradiction only serves to make our experience of the paint-

ings more complex.

Although one does not see more as one looks, one cannot look quickly, even
though the basic information is immediately apparent. (This is in direct contrast to
the experiencing of a Stella painting, which can be perceived totally and accurately
with great speed.) Unchanging, it is the painting's very reticence which compels our
involvement; this slowness of the perceptual process was discussed in relation to his
earlier work. One would assume that the slowness and inertness would be dissipated
in the two and three-panel works: it would appear that in these pieces the eye

19
 would travel from panel to panel, left to right, reading the relationships, experiencing

the cumulative effect of the components. However, this is not the case: we can ap-
proach the picture at any point, on any panel. The color in each panel is different
(although not radically so), but the value of the various colors is the same, creating a
homogeneous effect. That Marden sees "Color working as color and value simulta-
neously" 16 helps one understand how paintings like Parks, Small Point, Number and
Range (cat. nos. 9-11,1 8) work.
Marden's two and three-panel pieces bear a superficial resemblance to certain of

Ellsworth Kelly's paintings, although, in reality, they are artists of greatly differing
sensibilities. They are frequently linked together because Kelly (on occasion) and
Marden (invariably) make differently colored panel paintings, the components of

which are juxtaposed to form squares or rectangles. Kelly has worked in this manner
since the early 1950's; he does, however, also make paintings composed of panels
of unequal size, and irregularly curved forms. Marden never deviates from the square
or rectangle. Kelly often finds his sources in observable phenomena from which he
abstracts his form. Marden claims, on the other hand, to "begin work with some vague
color idea; a memory of a space, a color presence, a color I think I have seen." 17 As
previously noted, his work is often stimulated by a postcard, a person, even a situa-
tion, but the finished product bears only a remote associative relation to its inspira-

tion. In Kelly's work, the strong areas of unmixed color which stand in high contrast
to each other are in direct opposition to Marden's use of more static, muted, juxta-
posed "painted panels." "I paint paintings in panels They are not color panels. Color
and surface must work together. They are painted panels." 18 Marden's panels hold
one another and achieve their identity in large part because of the lack of chromatic
contrast; however, in a Kelly Spectrum painting, for example, the relationship be-

tween panels is based on chromatic contrast. Marden's paintings are highly de-
pendent on the extreme physicality of the surface with its subtle evidence of gesture;
all traces of gesture are absent from Kelly's panels. By never losing sight of Marden's
surface, one is always forced to see the painting's totality; Kelly's brilliant colors and
uninflected surfaces make one acutely aware of the separation of elements.
By the late 1960's, Marden began to introduce greater contrast of color into his

work without, however, creating the usual optical effects of receding and expanding.
In 1970, he began to join his panels horizontally, overcoming his reservations about
the dangers of alluding to landscape. Urdan, 1970-71 (cat. no. 14), is an example of
these new concerns: joined horizontally, the upper, warmer, orange panel does not
advance in front of the lower, gray-blue one. None of the expected effects occur
because the equal density of color, the opacity of surface and the identical shape

20
 "

m^\

/
j-
' 1 / Vr -

- — H J

^:_

i '--mm S| ''. '

1 J
"
US* "

ifrrr

L-L-

Installation view, one-man exhibition, Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, 1971

Announcement for one-man exhibition, Grove Group, Bykert Gallery, New York, 1973 21
 of the panels mitigates against them. The central seam is rough and unfinished in

appearance and draws attention to itself and its position on the surface, emphasizing
and holding the plane, working against the suggestion of receding and advancing
forms.
Even when there is more color contrast, as in Pumpkin Plum, 1970; 1973 (cat.

no. 13), in which two vertical outer panels of slightly dissimilar oranges frame a slate-

gray-blue one, the color placement, the canvas shape and surface quality all combine
to hold the painting in an integrated and unitary fashion. The precisely controlled
symmetry does not allow movement in one direction, but rather enables the eye to
move back and forth easily across the surface. The overall dimensions of the painting
are 69 x 51 inches, each section measuring 69 x 17 inches — the same size as For
Helen: they are human scale, like much of his work. The human scale establishes
a direct confrontation between viewer and work; the paintings never overwhelm
with their size. Works of identical overall size, comprised of panels of identical size,

such as Blue Painting and Number, both 1972 (cat. nos. 17, 18) and both 6 by 6 feet,

look very different according to the color Marden uses.

Grove Group, begun in 1973, is an example of a different sort of variation of similar
elements. It is a series of works which have the same overall dimensions of 6 by 9

feet. However, the panels that make up these paintings are all different sizes,

joined differently. The five are: a single canvas; two and three panels joined verti-

cally (cat. no. 20); and two and three panels joined horizontally (the last two are in

progress). The color, varying only in hue within each painting and from painting to
painting, along with the constant external size, serves to unify the series. Yet, para-

doxically, the distinctions of hue, however slight, and panel size contribute to the

uniqueness of each individual painting. The varied gray-greens are inspired, as is

the series itself, by an olive grove in Greece near where Marden now spends part
of each summer. He attributes the quantity of "light, air and general brightness" in

his newer work partly to the effect of the Mediterranean atmosphere. Even before
his colors became less somber, surface and tonal change occured, in works like

the more silvery Hydra group of 1972. But the color is essentially consistent with

that in his earlier work; when he wrote in 1967 about one of his colors as a "dark
black green seen slightly after a foggy dusk," 19 he could have been describing a
Grove Group painting.
Not only has the Grove Group series functioned as a summing up of his previous
work, it has also been generally recognized as a turning point in his development.
What we have come to identify as typical of Marden are above all those somber,
subdued and quiet tones to which we have so much trouble affixing a name. But, after

22
the Grove Group, he seems determined to overturn our pre-existing notion of the

meaning and appearance of his work.

The next major series to evolve was the Figure paintings, 1973-74 (cat. nos. 21-24).
The First Figure is subtitled Homage to Courbet. It was directly inspired by Goya's
La Marquise de la Solana in the Louvre; note the Homage to Art collage (cat. no. 32)

which incorporates three postcards of the Goya. He remembers responding to the

rather curious placement of the figure against the landscape background; he recalls
it as "A portrait of a severe woman standing in an awesome landscape on dainty feet
with a big pink bow in her hair, not fooling a soul." 20 The reference to Courbet is, un-
expectedly, in the chartreuse panel, the green of which Marden saw in a color post-
card of the artist's The Mediterranean, ca. 1854-60 (Phillips Collection, Washington,
D.C.). He has never seen the actual painting, but the postcard color (which surely

must be distorted) was exactly what he was looking for.

Marden's first real use of the primary colors occurs in the final painting of the
series, Fourth Figure of 1974. This work led directly into the next series of four, titled

Red, Yellow, Blue (cat. nos. 25-27). Here again, Marden seems to contradict previous

concerns by moving away from his vision of inaccessibility through the use of pri-

mary colors.

One associates these colors, used abstractly and in broad area, with certain
modern painters— particularly Mondrian, Newman and Kelly, all of them artists

Marden admires. Newman expressed the "primary color" problem in his character-
istically eloquent and humorous manner in relation to his own series begun in 1966,
Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue:

Why give in to these purists and formalists who have put a mortgage on red, yellow and blue,

transforming these colors into an idea that destroys them as colors?

I had, therefore, the double incentive of using these colors to express what I wanted to do —
of making these colors expressive rather than didactic and of freeing them from the mortgage.
Why should anybody be
'

afraid of red, yellow and blue? 2 1

It should be noted that Newman was especially significant for younger artists, as he
had so radically reduced and simplified painting into expansive, flat areas of color.
Like Newman, Marden is able to use this basic color scheme and lend it a quality
uniquely his own.
The first painting of Marden's group is made up of three vertical panels of the
three primaries: in the following three paintings of the same structural format he
set out to "deviate from the standard" and overturn the established notion of these
colors. Beyond the obvious resemblance to Kelly, the paintings seem even closer,

23
 BB"5
^

£'»

Installation view, one-man exhibition, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, 1973

 —

in a less overt way, to Johns. Several paintings of the early 1 960's by Johns are made
up of separate, but joined panels, on each of which is stencilled the name of a primary
color (for example, By the Sea, 1961, reproduced, exhibition catalogue, The Jewish
Museum, 1964, no. 58). But the color used to paint the name of the color does not
correspond to the color named. Like Johns, Marden "names" the colors by isolating

them and then confounding his own naming process by creating a color which is not

a pure version of the named color. For example, the yellow in the second painting
is murkier than in the first, the blue deeper; the shifts are slight and subtle, but con-
stitute nonetheless a violation of the primaries.

Unlike his earlier groups of pictures, our response to these Red, Yellow, Blue
paintings seems dependent upon seeing them as a series. Each three-panel painting
in the whole series seems almost to be functioning like a single panel within one three-
panel piece. Therefore, a single painting's significance seemingly relies on its rela-

tion to another painting in the series. Apparently coming closer to a more accessible
vision, he continues to make the experience of his work difficult— whether or not we
know the paintings in the series context, we are forced to deal with our preconceived
notion of red, yellow and blue, and to define his "deviation from the standard" in our
own minds and according to our own sensibilities.

The work in this exhibition, which spans a ten-year period, attests to Marden's
fundamental commitment to painting. He has continuously challenged the restric-
tions of his medium and confronted the inherent ambiguities of his art. As the
paintings become more resolved, the questions they pose seem more difficult,
the contradictions more elusive. In spite of the visual austerity, the strict, almost

dogmatic, formal limitations he has imposed upon himself, Marden's art is, above all,

intuitive: the precarious equilibrium of elements in his work is determined by a sub-

jective feeling for what is right. Marden's work is evolving slowly, with deeply felt

albeit barely perceptible— changes. It is as difficult to formulate a verbal evaluation

of his career as it is to describe his work. Despite what may seem to be unpredictable,
even surprising innovations— his use of primary color, for example— these develop-
ments, when viewed in the context of his total work, fall into place as components of
a consistent, inevitable evolution.

26
 .

1. Edouard Manet, in Pierre Courthion, ed., Manet Roberta Pancoast Smith, "Brice Marden's Paintings,"
raconte par lui-meme et par ses amis, Geneva, 1945, - Arts Magazine, vol. 47, no. 7, May-June 1973, p. 76
translation by Linda Nochlin, in Linda Nochlin, ed., 12. Brice Marden, [Statement,] Eight Contemporary
Realism and Tradition in Art 1848-1900: Sources and Artists, exhibition catalogue, The Museum of Modern
Documents in the History of Art Series, Englewood Art, New York, 1974, p. 46
Cliffs, New Jersey, 1966, p. 78
13. Scott Burton,"Reviews and Previews: Brice
2. "Reviews: Brice Marden, Bykert
Lizzie Borden, Marden," Art News, vol. 66, no. 10, February 1968,
Gallery," Artforum, vol. XI, no. 9, May 1973, p. 76 pp. 14-15; Gregory Battcock, "The Moral Integrity of
3. Brice Marden, unpublished Master of Fine Arts Smudges," The New York Free Press, January 25, 1968,
Thesis, Yale University, School of Art and Architecture, p. 10
New Haven, 1963, p. 1
14. Ad Reinhardt, "Art as Art," Art International, vol. VI,
4. Ibid., p. 3 no. 10, December 20, 1962, p. 37
5. Ibid., pp. 3-4 15. Douglas Crimp, "New York Letter," Art International,

6. Harris Rosenstein, "Total and Complex," Art News, vol. XVII, no. 6, Summer 1973, p. 90
vol. 66, no. 3, May 1967, p. 52 16. BriceMarden, "Notes: A Mediterranean Painting,"
7.Emile Zola, "Une Nouvelle Maniere en peinture: The Structure of Color, exhibition catalogue, Whitney
Edouard Manet," La Revue du XIXe Siecle, January 1, Museum of American Art, New York, 1971 p. 20 ,

1867, translation by Linda Nochlin, in Nochlin, op. cit., 17. Brice Marden. in Carl Andre, ed., "New in New
p. 74 York: Line Work," Arts Magazine, vol. 41, no. 7, May
8. Lucy R. Lippard, Ad Reinhardt: Paintings, exhibition 1967, p. 50
catalogue, The Jewish Museum, New York, 1966, p. 14 18. Marden, "Notes: A Mediterranean Painting," p. 20
9. Marden, op. cit., p. 2 19. Marden, "New in New York: Line Work," p. 50
10. In conversation with the author. Hereafter, unless 20. Brice Marden, in Bruce Kurtz, ed., "Documenta 5:
noted, all quotes by the artist are from conversations A Critical Preview," Arts Magazine, vol. 46, no. 8,
with the author Summer 1972, p. 43

1 1For the most cogent discussion of the interdepend- 21. Barnett Newman, [Statement,] Art Now: New York,
ence of color, surface and shape in Marden's work, see vol. 1, no. 3, March 1969, n.p.

27
 I prime a stretched and animal-skin glue sized
cotton duck canvas with two coats of turps-thinned
Flake White. When dry, I sand the surface.
When applying color to the canvas, I mix
standard artist's oil color (paint) with a medium of

wax and turpentine. (To one part melted white

refined beeswax, I add four parts pure gum spirits

of turpentine.) This medium is kept warm (liquid)

on a hot plate by my palette and small amounts are

mixed in with the paint by brush just prior to apply-
ing color to the canvas. The mixture is then applied
to the canvas with a brush and worked over so the
medium and paint are thoroughly mixed and evenly
cover the shape. The paint is then worked with a
large painting spatula and a small painting knife

until it arrives at a satisfactory state.

I try to keep the surfaces in one painting con-

stant and total. There are variables. Extensive
heating of the medium results in some evaporation
which can make the paint gummy and softer. Left-

over paint, with wax added, is often used in mixing

subsequent colors. I am never exactly sure of how
much wax is added to the oil paint in the final

surface, but oil remains the primary binder as

opposed to encaustic where the wax is the binder.

Brice Marden

28
o
m
z
X
LU
LU
X
I-

DC
o

1 Decorative Painting. 1 964 29

30 2 Untitled. 1964-65
3 Pair. 1965 31
32 4 The Dylan Painting. 1966
5 For Helen. 1 967 33
34 6 For Me. 1967-68
7 Green Back Rerun. 1967-68; 1971 35
36 8 Fave. 1968-69
9 Parks (for Van Dyke Parks). 1 968-69 37
38 10 Small Point. 1969
11 Range. 1970 39
40 12 Klein. 1970-72; 1974
15 Gober. 1971 41
42 17 Blue Painting. 1972
18 Number. 1972 43
44 19 Star (for Patti Smith). 1972; 1974
20 Grove Group, 1973 45
46 21 First Figure (Homage to Courbet). 1973-74
22 Second Figure. 1974 47
48 23 Third Figure. 1974
24 Fourth Figure. 1974 49
50 25 Red, Yellow. Blue I. 1974
26 Red, Yellow, Blue //. 1974 51
52 27 Red, Yellow, Blue III. 1974
30 Untitled. 1970 53
 E IHM^KflHt'

54 32 Homage to Art 2. 1973

33 Homage to Art 13. May 1974 55
 34 Painting Study. 1974
56
 3
7 "

Paintings 10 Small Point. 1969

Oil and wax on canvas
Decorative Painting. 1 964
Oil on canvas
48x48": 3 panels, each 48x16"
Collection Marcel Boulois, Paris
41% x 173/4"
Collection Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Howard, 11 Range. 1970
New York Oil and wax on canvas
61 x 105": 3 panels, each 61 x 35"
Untitled. 1964-65
Collection Joyce Hoppner and Peter Hoppner,
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
20% x27%" New York
Collection the artist 12 Klein. 1970-72:1974
Pair. 1965 Oil and wax on canvas
33 x 22"
Oil with charcoal on canvas
Collection Jack H. Klein
18 x 38": 2 panels, each 18 x 18" with 2"
separation 1 Pumpkin Plum. 1 970 1 973
;

Collection Helen Harrington Marden, New York Oiland wax on canvas

69 x51":3 panels, each 69 x 17"
The Dylan Painting. 1 966
Oiland wax on canvas
Collection Helen Harrington Marden, New York
60x120" 14 * Urdan. 1970-71
Courtesy Bykert Gallery, New York Oil and wax on canvas
70 x 61": 2 panels, each 35 x 61
For Helen. 1967
Collection The Fort Worth Art Museum
Oiland wax on canvas
69x35": 2 panels each 69 x 17" with 1" 15 Gober. 1971
separation Oil and wax on canvas
Collection Helen Harrington Marden, New York 72 x 36": 2 panels, each 36 x 36"
For Me. 1967-68 Courtesy Gian Enzo Sperone Inc., New York
Oil and wax on canvas 16 * Smith. 1971
69 x 45" Oiland wax on canvas
Collection Robert Rauschenberg, New York 72 x 36": 2 panels, each 36 x 36"
Private Collection, Milan
Green Back Rerun. 1967-68; 1971
Oiland wax on canvas 1 Blue Painting. 1 972

69 x 45" Oiland wax on canvas

Collection Dr. and Mrs. R. J. Fusillo, Atlanta 72 x 72": 3 panels, each 72 x 24"
Collection Lewis Kaplan, London
Fave. 1968-69
Oil and wax on canvas 18 Number. 1972
72 x 66": 2 panels, each 72 x 33" Oil and wax on canvas
The Michener Collection, The University of Texas 72 x 72": 3 panels, each 72 x 24"
at Austin Courtesy Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis
Parks (for Van Dyke Parks). 1 968-69 19 Sfar (tor Patti Smith). 1972; 1974
Oiland wax on canvas Oil and wax on canvas
72 x 99": 3 panels, each 72 x 33" 68 x 45": 3 panels, each 68 x 15"
Courtesy Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis Collection the artist

20 Grove Group. 1973

Oil and wax on canvas
72 x 108": 3 panels, each 72 x 36"
* Not illustrated Collection Paula Cooper, New York

57
 "

21 First Figure (Homage to Courbet). 1973-74 Drawings

Oil and wax on canvas 29 * Two Studies, Back Series. 1967
75 x 30": 3 panels, each 25 x 30"
Graphite and pastel on paper
Collection the artist
23 x 31
22 Second Figure. 1974 Collection Rosalind Constable, Santa Fe,
Oil and wax on canvas New Mexico
75 x 30": 3 panels, each 25 x 30"
Collection Paul F.Walter
30 Untitled. W0
Graphite and wax on paper
23 Third Figure. 1974 22% x31"
Oiland wax on canvas Courtesy Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis
75 x 30": 3 panels, each 25 x 30"
31 * Grove Addenda (Delphi). 1973
Private Collection, New York
Collage of leaf on paper
24 Fourth Figure. 1974 30 x 22% "
Oil and wax on canvas Collection the artist
75 x 30": 3 panels, each 25 x 30"
32 Homage to Art 2. 1 973
Courtesy Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis
Collage of postcards, graphite and wax on paper
25 Red, Yellow, Blue I. 1974 30 1/4 x 20% "
Oiland wax on canvas Collection Ugo Ferranti, Rome
74 x 72": 3 panels, each 74 x 24"
33 Homage to Art 13. May 1 974
Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, The
Collage of postcards, graphite and wax on paper
James S. Ely Fund
30 /4 x20%"
1

26 fled. Yellow, Blue974II. 1 Collection Nancy Gillespie Jennings, New York

Oil and wax on canvas
34 Painting Study. 1974
74 x 72": 3 panels, each 74 x 24"
Graphite and wax on paper
Collection Dr. and Mrs. Stacy A. Roback,
22'/4 x 30"
Edina, Minnesota
Courtesy Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich
27 fled, Yellow, Blue1974
III.
35 * Untitled. 1974
Oil and wax on canvas
Ink on paper
74 x 72": 3 panels, each 74 x 24"
13% x17"
Collection the artist
Collection the artist
28 * Grove Group. 1974-75
Oiland wax on canvas
72 x 108": 2 panels, each 36 x 108"
Courtesy Bykert Gallery, New York

58
 •», — I <

one-man exhibition, Bykert Gallery, New York, 1970 59

Announcement for
 1938 Born Bronxville, New York
Raised Briarcliff Manor, New York

1957-58 Attended Florida Southern College, Lakeland

Fall 1958 - Spring 1961 Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts;
received Bachelor of Fine Arts
(3 Summer 1961 Yale Norfolk Summer School of Music and Art,
Norfolk, Connecticut

Fall 1961 -Spring1963 Yale University, School of Art and Architecture,

New Haven, received Masters of Fine Arts

Summer 1963 Moved to New York City

Fall 1963 - Spring 1964 Worked as a guard at Jewish Museum, New York
December 1963 - January 1964 First one-man show, The Wilcox Gallery, Swarth-
more College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Spring and Summer 1964 First trip to Paris, draws there
Winter 1964 First one-panel monochromatic paintings

Fall 1966 First one-man show in New York, Bykert Gallery;

became general assistant to Robert Rauschenberg
Winter 1968 First two and three-panel paintings
1969-1974 Painting instructor, The School of Visual Arts,
New York

Currently lives and works in New York

60
 By the Artist

Andre, Carl, ed., "New in New York: Line Work,"

Arts Magazine, vol. 41, no. 7, May 1967, pp. 49-50

"Three Deliberate Greys for Jasper Johns," Art

Now: New York, vol. 3, no. 1 , March 1 971 , n.p.

Sharp, Willoughby, ed., "Points of View: A Taped

Conversation with 4 Painters," Arts Magazine,
vol. 45, no. 3, December/January 1971, pp. 41-42

"Notes: A Mediterranean Painting," The Structure

of Color, exhibition catalogue, Whitney Museum of
CO American Art, New York, 1971, p. 20

[Cover design,] Coolidge, Clark, The So, New

York, 1971

[Statement,] Invitational, exhibition catalogue,

University Art Gallery, University of Massachu-
setts, Amherst, 1971, n.p. Also includes partial
reprint "Three Deliberate Greys for Jasper
Johns," 1971, listed above.

Kurtz, Bruce, ed., [Statement,] "Documenta 5: A

Critical Preview," Arts Magazine, vol. 46, no. 8,

Summer 1972 p. 43

[Statement,] "Options and Alternatives: Some

Directions in Recent Art," exhibition catalogue,
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, 1973, n.p.

[Statement,] Eight Contemporary Artists, exhibi-

tion catalogue, The Museum of Modern Art, New
York, 1974, p. 46. Also includes, p. 44, partial
reprint statement, "Options and Alternatives,"
1973, listed above.

Suicide Notes, Editions des Massons, Lausanne,

1974. Facsimile of notebook

[Reproduction on cover,] The Paris Review, Winter

1974, no. 60

61
On the Artist G[oldin], A[my],"Reviews and Previews: Brice
Lippard. Lucy R., "The Silent Art," Art in Marden," Art News, vol. 65, no. 8, December
America, vol. 55, no. 1, January-February 1967, 1966, p. 14

pp. 58-63 Glueck, Grace, "Brice Marden," The New York

Times, December 3, 1966, p. 37
Rosenstein, Harris, "Total and Complex," Art
News, vol. 66, no. 3, May 1967, pp. 52-54, 67-68 Bykert Gallery, New York, Brice Marden/ Back
Series, January 6-31, 1968. Poster announcement
Battcock, Gregory, ed., Minimal Art: A Critical
Perreault, John, "Art," The Village Voice,
Anthology, New York, 1968, ill. p. 433, no text
January 18, 1968, p. 36
Ashton, Dore, "Young Abstract Painters: Right Battcock, Gregory, "The Moral Integrity of
On!," Arts Magazine, vol. 44, no. 4, February Smudges," The New York Free Press, January
1970, pp. 31-35 25, 1968, p. 10

Muller, Gregoire, "After the Ultimate," Arts "Brice Marden Art in New York," Time Maga-
Magazine, vol. 44, no. 5, March 1970, pp. 28-31 zine, January 26, 1968
B[urtonJ, S[cottj, "Reviews and Previews: Brice
Ashbery, John, "Grey Eminence," Art News, vol.
Marden," Art News, vol. 66, no. 10, February
71, no. 1, March 1972, pp. 26-27, 64-66
1968, pp. 14-15
Muller, W. K., "Prints and Multiples," Arts Picard, Lil, "Brief aus New York," Das
Magazine, vol. 46, no. 5, March 1972, pp. 26-27. Kunstwerk, vol. 5-6, no. XXI, February-March
Photographic essay 1968, p. 77

Pincus-Witten, Robert, "Ryman, Marden, Manzoni:

Wasserman, Emily, "Brice Marden," Arttorum,
vol. VI, no. 7, March 1968, pp. 57-58
Theory, Sensibility, Mediation," Artforum, vol. X,
no. 10, June 1972, pp. 50-53 Bykert Gallery, New York, Drawings by Brice

Ratcliff, Carter, "Once More with Feeling," Art Marden, November 30, 1968-January 2, 1969.

News, vol. 71 , no. 4, Summer 1 972, pp. 35-37, 67-69

Announcement
B[runelle], A[l], "Reviews and Previews: Brice
Boice, Bruce, "The Quality Problem," Arttorum,
Marden," Art News, vol. 67, no. 9, January 1 969,
vol. XI, no. 2, October 1972, pp. 68-70
p. 24
Smith, Roberta Pancoast, "Brice Marden's Paint- Ashton, Dore, "New York Commentary," Studio
ings," Arts Magazine, vol. 47, no. 7, May-June International, vol. 177, no. 908, February 1969,
1973, pp. 30-41 p. 95
Gilbert-Rolfe, Jeremy, "Brice Marden's Paintings," Bykert Gallery, New York, New Paintings, April
Arttorum, vol. XIII, no. 2, October 1974, pp. 30-38 26-May 17, 1969. Poster announcement
R[osenstein], H[arris], "Reviews and Previews:
Brice Marden," Art News, vol. 68, no. 3, May
One Man Exhibitions and Reviews 1969, p. 69
The Wilcox Gallery, Swarthmore College, Swarth-
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, September 25-
more, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1963-January 6,
October 25, 1969. Announcement
1964
Peppiatt, Michael, "Paris," Art International,
Bykert Gallery, New York, November 15-Decem- vol. XIII, no. 9, November 1969, p. 56
ber 8, announcement
1966. Poster
Galerie Frangoise Lambert, Milan, January 30-
Andre, Carl, "Two Part Review," 57th Street
February 15, 1970
Review, November 15, 1966, insert after p. 6
Goldin, Amy, "Brice Marden," 57th Street Bykert Gallery, New
Bnce Marden, October
York,
Review, November 15, 1966, p. 7 31-November Announcement
26, 1970.
G[ollin], J[ane], "Reviews and Previews," Art Gruen, John, "Brice Marden," New York Maga-
News, vol. 65, no. 7, November 1966, p. 15 zine, November 30, 1970, p. 57

62
 Glueck, Grace, "From Master to Modular: New Crimp, Douglas, "New York Letter," Art Inter-
York Gallery Notes," Art in America, vol. 58, no. national, vol XVII, no. 6, Summer 1973, pp. 89-90
6, November-December 1970, pp. 167-168
Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, July 1973.
R[atcliff], C[arter], "Reviews and Previews," Art
Announcement
News, vol. 69, no. 8, December 1970, p. 58
G[ruterich], M[arlis], "Brice Marden," Heute
Domingo, Willis, "Robert Mangold and Brice
Kunst, no. 3, October 1973, p. 29
Marden," Arts Magazine, vol. 45, no. 3, Decem-
ber 1970/January 1971 p. 58 ,
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, Brice Marden, Sep-
Masheck, Joseph, "Brice Marden, Bykert Gal- tember 18-October 18, 1973. Poster announcement
lery," Artforum, vol. IX, no. 5, January 1971, Cane, Louis, "Brice Marden," Peinture, Cahiers
p. 72 Theoriques, no. 819, pp. 46-49
Ratcliff, Carter, "New York Letter," Art Interna-
tional, vol. XV, no. 2, February 20, 1971, p. 69 Galerie Frangoise Lambert, Milan, Sn'ce Marden:
Disegni, October 19-November 19, 1973.
Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, Brice Marden, Bilder
Announcement
und Zeichnungen, May 18-June 7, 1971. Post-card
announcement Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Brice
Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone, Turin, opened June Marden Drawings, 1964-1974, January 24-March
10, 1974; Gallery of the Loretta-Hilton Center,
11, 1971. Announcement
Webster College, St. Louis, March 31-April 27;
Bykert Gallery, New York, Sn'ce Marden, February Bykert Gallery, New York, October 19-November
5- March 1, 1972. Announcement 1, 1974; The Fort Worth Art Museum, November
Wolmer, Denise, "In the Galleries," Arts Maga- 10, 1974-January 5, 1975; The Minneapolis Insti-
zine, vol. 46, no. 6, April 1972, p. 65 tute of Arts, January 15-March 1, 1975. Individual
Ratcliff, Carter, "New York Letter," Art Interna- announcements; text by Dore Ashton, "Brice
tional, vol. XVI, no. 4, April 20, 1972, p. 31 Marden: Drawings 1963-1973," Forf Worth Star-
Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis, Sn'ce Telegram, November 1 0, 1 974, p. 25 A, sponsored
Marden: New Paintings, April 21-May 12, 1972 by Fort Worth Art Museum in conjunction with the
exhibition
Konrad Fischer, Dusseldorf, June 1973. Smith, Roberta, "Brice Marden, Bykert Gallery,"
Announcement XIII, no. 5, January 1975, pp. 63-64.
Artforum, vol.
Jack Glenn Gallery, Corona del Mar, California,
Bykert Gallery, New York, New Paintings, Brice
February 3-March 2, 1973. Poster announcement
Marden, March 23-April 17, 1974.Announcement
Bykert Gallery, New York, Brice Marden, New Shorr, Harriet, "Brice Marden at Bykert," Art in
Paintings: Grove Group, February 24-March 22, America, vol. 62, no. 3, May-June 1974, pp.
1973. Announcement 104-105
Hess, Thomas B., "Exhibitions Noted," New Gilbert-Rolfe, Jeremy, "Brice Marden," Art-
York Magazine, March 19, 1973, p. 75 forum, vol. June 1974, pp. 68-69
XII, no. 10,

Siegel, Jeanne, "Reviews and Previews," Art Herrera, Hayden, "Reviews and Previews: Brice
News, 79
vol. 72, no. 4, April 1973, p. Marden," Art News, vol. 73, no. 6, Summer 1974,
Borden, Lizzie, "Reviews: Brice Marden, Bykert pp. 110-111
Gallery," Artforum, vol. XI, no. 9, May 1973, pp.
76-77 Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, 72 Etchings by Brice

Anderson, Alexandra C, "Brice Marden at Marden, May 7-31, 1974. Announcement

Bykert," Art in America, vol. 61 no. three, May-
,

The Jared Sable Gallery, Toronto, Brice Marden,

June 1973, pp. 99-100
September 14-28, 1974. Announcement
Mayer, Rosemary, "Attitudes Toward Materials,
Content and the Personal," Arts Magazine, vol. Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis, October 25-
47, no. 7, May-June 1973, pp. 63-66 November 15, 1974

63
 Larson, Philip, "Minneapolis: Brice Marden at Rejective Art, exhibition organized by Lucy R.
Locksley/Shea," Arts Magazine, vol. 49, no. 5, Lippard, circulated by The American Federation
January 1975, p. 23 of Arts to University of Omaha, Nebraska, Novem-
ber 9-30, 1967; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,
Group Exhibitions and Reviews December 14, 1967-January 4, 1968; School of
Architecture, Clemson University, Clemson, South
Lyman Allen Museum, New London, Connecticut,
Carolina, January 19-February 9, 1968
The Second Competitive Drawing Exhibition,
March 6-27, 1960 Bykert Gallery, New York, Painting and Sculpture,
May 25-June 22, 1968. Announcement
Leo New York, Drawings (Benefit
Castelli Gallery,
Perreault, John, "Art," The Village Voice,
tor the Foundation tor The Contemporary
June 13, 1968, p. 15
Performance Arts), December 14, 1965-January
5, 1966 Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto, "New York
Now," December 20, 1968-January 7, 1969.
Park Place Gallery, New York, Group, June 12- Announcement
July 1966. Announcement
Lippard, Lucy R., "Rejective Art," Art Inter- Vassar College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New
national, vol. X, no. 8, October 20, 1966, York, Concept, April 30-June 11, 1969. Exhibition
organized byart history students under super-
pp. 33-36
Mary Delahoyd; catalogue essays by
vision of
Ithaca College Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York, Mary Delahoyd and Lawrence Alloway
Drawings 1967, January 17-February 25, 1967.
Stadtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, Prospect 69,
Catalogue texts by Daniel Gorski and Gretel Leed
September 30-October 12, 1969. Newspaper
Krannert Art Museum, College of Fine and Applied catalogue
Arts, University of Illinois, Champaign, Contem-
The Worth Art Museum, Texas, Drawings: An
Fort
porary American Painting and Sculpture 1967,
American Drawings, October 28-
Exhibition of
March 5-April 9, 1967. Catalogue introduction by
November 30, 1969. Catalogue
Aliens. Weller
Carmen Lamanna Gallery, Toronto, Scenic Land-
Bykert Gallery, New York, Group, May 16-June 12, marks of New York presents a Scenic Landmark
1967. Poster announcement for Toronto, November 21 -December 9, 1969. Two-
Lippard, Lucy R., "Rebelliously Romantic," The
man exhibition with David Diao. Announcement
New York Times, June 4, 1967, p. 25 D Kritzwiser, Kay, "Other Galleries," Toronto
R[osenstein], H[arris], "Reviews and Previews:
Globe and Mail, November 29, 1969, p. 26
Bykert," Art News, vol. 66, no. 4, Summer 1967, Sable, Jared, "Objects of Contemplation,"
p. 66 Toronto Telegram, November 29, 1969, 4
p.
K[osuth], J[oseph], "In the Galleries," Arts
Magazine, vol. 41 , no. 8, Summer 1967, pp. 58-59 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
7969 Annual Exhibition: Contemporary American
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Painting, December 16, 1969-February 1, 1970.
A Romantic Minimalism, September 13-October Catalogue foreword by John H. Baur I.

11, 1967. Exhibition organized and catalogue

introduction by Stephen S. Prokopoff Bykert Gallery, New York, Brice Marden/ Bob
Duran, February 3-26, 1970. Announcement
Bykert Gallery, New York, Group, November 15- Rfatcliff), C[arter], "Reviews and Previews,"
December 7, 1967 Art News, vol. 69, no. 1, March 1970, p. 63
Rose, Barbara, "New York: Group Show, N[emser], Cjindy], "In the Galleries: Marden
Bykert," Artforum, vol. VI, no. 3, November 1967, and Duran at Bykert," Arts Magazine, vol. 44,
p. 59 no. 5, March 1970, p. 62

64
 ,

Wasserman, Emily, "New York," Artforum, vol. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The
VIII, no. 8, April 1970, p. 79 Structure of Color, February 25-April 18, 1971.
Ratcliff, Carter, "New York Letter," Art Inter- Exhibition organized and catalogue by Marcia
national, vol. XIV, no. 5, May 20, 1970, p. 76 Tucker; statement by Marden

Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and The Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Drawings
Design, Smithsonian Institution, New York, The USA/71, April 15-June 27, 1971. Catalogue
Drawing Society ot New York Regional Exhibition: prefaces by Malcolm E. Lein and Cleve Gray
1970, March 9-May 9, 1970. Exhibition organized
Bykert Gallery, New York, Group, May 18-June 22,
by Eila Kokkinen, Marcia Tucker, Diane Waldman,
1971. Announcement
Elaine Dee. Catalogue introduction by James
Biddle; essay by Robert Motherwell. Circulated Bykert Gallery, New York, Drawings and Prints,
nationally, fall 1970-fall 1971, under the auspices November 6-December 2, 1971. Announcement
of The American Federation of Arts Borden, Lizzie, "New York: Group Drawing
Glueck, Grace, "Drawings by All-Star Cast," Show," Artforum, vol. X, no. 6, February 1972,
The New York Times, March 21 1 970, p. 25 , p. 88

Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis, Bn'ce University Art Gallery, University of Massachu-
Marden-Jo Baer: Major Works, March 20-April 11, setts,Amherst, Invitational, December 3-24, 1971.
1970 Exhibition and catalogue organized by graduates
in studio art. Text of quotes from the artists, H. W.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York,
Janson and Lucy R. Lippard, compiled by Lucy R.
Modular Painting, April 21 -May 24, 1970. Exhibition
Lippard, statement by Marden and partial reprint
organized and catalogue by Robert Murdock;
of Art Now statement, 1971, see By the Artist,
foreword by Gordon M. Smith
listed above
Bykert Gallery, New York, Group, May 19-June20,
Art Gallery, University of Rochester, New York,
1970. Announcement
Aspects Painting—New York, Decem-
ot Current
Michael Walls Gallery, San Francisco, Uses of ber 6-30, 1971. Announcement
Structure in Recent American Painting, July 15-
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, White on
August 22, 1970. Announcement
White: The White Monochrome in the 20th Cen-
Richardson, Brenda, "Reports: Bay Area tury, December 18, 1971 -January 30, 1972. Exhibi-
Surveys," Arts Magazine, vol. 45, no. 1 tion organized and catalogue foreword by Stephen
September/October 1970, p. 52 S. Prokopoff; essay by Robert Pincus-Witten

Fondation Maeght, St. Paul-de-Vence, L'art vivant Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Painting: New
aux Etats-Unis, July 16- September 30, 1970. Options, April 23-June4, 1972. Catalogue intro-
Exhibition organized and catalogue essay by duction by Dean Swanson; text by Philip Larson
Dore Ashton
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Painting and Sculp-
Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris, American Drawings, ture Today 1972, 26-June
April 4, 1972. Marden
September 1970. Post card invitation not included in catalogue

Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt University Art Museum, Berkeley, Eight New York
Lake Drawings by New York Artists, Novem-
City, Painters, May 10-June 25, 1972. Exhibition
ber 28, 1970-January 12, 1971; Henry Gallery, organized by Brenda Richardson
University of Washington, Seattle, March 3-26,
John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, Ten Days:
1972; University Art Collections, Arizona State
A Portfolio of 8 Etchings, June 7-July 8, 1972.
University, Tempe, May 10-June 12, 1972; Georgia
Announcement
Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens,
July 2-August 1972. Exhibition selected and
6, The Art Institute of Chicago, 70th American
catalogue introduction by Dore Ashton Exhibition, June 24-August 20, 1972

65
Museum Fridericianum and Neue Galerie, Kassel, 16 Place Vendome, Paris, Une Exposition de
Germany, Documents June 30-October 8, 1972.
5. peinture reunissant certains peintres qui met-
"Idea" section organized by Konrad Fischer and traient la peinture en question. May 29-June 23,
Klaus Honnef; Catalogue section 17, pp. 61-62 1973. Exhibition and catalogue organized by
Kramer, Hilton, "Art: German Documenta," Michel Claura and Rene Denizot
The New York Times, July 1, 1972, p. 11 Rosenbloom, P[aul] A., "Group Show," Studio
Kramer, Hilton, "Of the Neo-Dadaists," International, vol. 186, no. 958, September 1973,
The New York Times, July 9, 1972, p. 15 pp. 103-104
Borden, Lizzie, "Cosmologies," Artforum, vol.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York,
XI, no. 2, October 1972, pp. 45-50
American Drawings 1963-1973, May 25-July 22,
Ratcliff, Carter, "Adversary Spaces," Artforum,
1973. Exhibition organized and catalogue essay
vol. XI, no. 2, October 1972, pp. 40-44
by Elke M. Solomon
28 rue de Paradis, Paris, Yvon Lambert, Actualite
Seattle Art Museum Pavilion, American Art: Third
d'un bilan, October 29-December 15, 1972.
Quarter Century, August 22-October 14, 1973.
Exhibition and catalogue organized by Yvon
Catalogue text by Jan van der Marck
Lambert and Michel Claura
Stadtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, Prospect 73:
Bykert Gallery, New York, Group Show, January
Maler, Painters, Peintres, September 28-October
6-24, 1973
7, 1973. Exhibition organized by Evelyn Weiss,
Mayer, Rosemary, "Reviews— New York," Arts
Konrad Fischer, Jurgen Harten, Hans Strelow in
Magazine, vol. 47, no. 5, March 1973, p. 72
conjunction with Kunstverein fur die Rheinlande
Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, und Westfalen. Catalogue introduction by Hans
1973 Biennial Exhibition: Contemporary American Strelow, checklist, slides
Art, January 10-March 18, 1973. Catalogue
Centro Communitaro di Brera, Milan, Arte come
Goldberg, Lenore; Kim, Whee; Smith, Roberta
Arte, April-May 1973. Catalogue introduction by
Pancoast; Stitelman, Paul, "The Whitney Bien-
Cornelio Brandini, texts by Douglas Crimp and
nial: Four Views," Arts Magazine, vol. 47, no. 5,
Germano Celant
March 1973, pp. 63-66
Parcheggio di Villa Borghese, Rome, Contem-
Gentofte Radhus, Gentofte Copenhagen, Yngre
poreneo, November 1973-February 1974. Exhibi-
amerikansk kunst Tegninger og gratik: Young
tionorganized by Incontri Internazionali d'Arte;
American Artists: Drawings and Graphics: Neues
Catalogue preface by Graziella Lonardi, art
aus USA Zeichnungen und Graphik, January 24-
section edited by Achille Bonito Oliva, pp. 48-49
February 11, 1973; Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Arhus,
Denmark, February 18-March 4; Henie-Onstad Bykert/ Downtown, New York, Etchings and Draw-
Kunstsenter, Hovikodden, Oslo, March 15-April 15; Marden: Paintings, David Novros,
ings, Brice
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, April 28-June February 9-March 2, 1974. Announcement
11; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, September 15-
Some Recent American Art, organized by The
October 31 Amerika Haus, Berlin. Exhibition
;

International Council of The Museum of Modern

organized by Steingrim Laursen; catalogue text by
Art, New York, traveled to National Gallery of
Pierre Apraxine, in Danish, English, German
Victoria, Melbourne, February 12-March 10, Art
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Options Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, April 5-
and Alternatives: Some Directions in Recent Art, May 5, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide,
April 4-May organized by
16, 1973. Exhibition May 31-June 30, West Australian Art Gallery,
students under supervision of Anne Coffin Hanson. Perth, July 26-August 21 City of Auckland Art
,

Catalogue preface by Alan Shestack; texts by Gallery, Auckland, October 14-November 17, 1974.
Anne Coffin Hanson, Klaus Kertess, Annette Catalogue by Jennifer Licht, reprint of statement,
Michelson; Marden biography and bibliography by Options and Alternatives, Yale University, New
Susan Warren; statement by Marden, n.p. Haven, 1973, see By the Artist, listed above

66
Susan Caldwell Inc., New York, Group, February The Museum of Art, New York, Eight Con-
Modern
23-March 20, 1974. Announcement temporary October 9, 1 974-January 5,
Artists,
1975. Exhibition and catalogue organized by
Westfalischer Kunstverein, Munster, Germany, Jennifer Licht
Geplante Malerei, March 30-April 28, 1974. Ex- Russell, John, "8 of Today's Artists Exhibit at
hibitionorganized and catalogue essay by Klaus the Modern," The New York Times, October 9,
Honnef; Marden, pp. 397-399 1974, 52
p.
Bourdon, David, "The Mini-Conceptual Age,"
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Five
The Village Voice, October 17, 1974, pp. 40, 43
Artists: A Logic of Vision, May 4-June 23, 1974.
Hess, Thomas B., "Rules of the Game, Part II:
Exhibition organized and catalogue by Stephen S.
Prokopoff. Expanded version of catalogue text,
Marden and Rockburne," New York Magazine,
Arts Magazine, vol. 49, no. 1, September 1974, November 11, 1974, pp. 101-102
Hughes, Robert, "Eight Cool Contemporaries,"
pp. 45-47
Time Magazine, November 11, 1974, pp. 98, 100
The Katonah Gallery, New York, New Painting:
Stressing Surface, June 1-Juiy 14, 1974. Catalogue Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh, Painting

introduction by Klaus Kertess Exhibition, October 26-November 17, 1974.

Announcement
Michael Walls Gallery, New York, Ten Painters in
New June 15-July 6, 1974. Announcement
York, Vassar College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New
Bell, Jane, "Ten Painters in New York," Arts York, November 18-December 21, 1974. Checklist

Magazine, vol. 49, no. 2, October 1974, p. 62

Susan Caldwell Inc., New York, 22 Artists, Jan-
University Art Museum, Berkeley, The Bay Area uary 4-25, 1975. Announcement; selected by David
Coilects: Sandra and Breck Caldwell, July 3- Novros
August organized and
11, 1974. Exhibition
catalogue by Brenda Richardson
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, Etchings: William
Bailey and Brice Marden, January 7-24, 1975
New York Cultural Center, New York, Prints from
the Untitled Press, August 10-September 15, 1974.
Catalogue

Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown

Branch, New York, Continuing Abstraction in
American Art, September 19-November 1, 1974.
Exhibition and catalogue organized by Richard
Armstrong, Richard Marshall and William Zimmer
of theWhitney Museum's Independent Study
Program
Schjeldahl, Peter, "New Abstract Painting:
A Variety of Feelings," The New York Times,
October 13, 1974, Arts and Leisure Section,
p. 29

The Museum Modern Art, New York, Works

of
from Changes September 25-November 22,
Inc.,
1974. Exhibition organized by The Art Lending
Service
Nemy, Enid, "Artists' Families Needing Aid Get
It From Rauschenberg's Group," The New York

Times, September 25, 1 974, p. 46

67
 Works in the exhibition

Courtesy Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich: no. 34

Geoffrey Clements, New York: nos. 8, 9

LU Alfio di Bella, Rome: no. 32
DC
O Jerome Drown, Atlanta: no. 7

Courtesy Locksley Shea Gallery, Minneapolis:

o nos. 18, 24-27,30

Robert E. Mates and Mary Donlon, New York:

nos. 1-6, 12, 13, 17,20, 22, 23,33

< Andre Morain, Paris: no. 10

Nathan Rabin, New York: nos.

o New
11, 21

o Steven Sloman, York: no. 19

Courtesy Gian Enzo Sperone, Turin: no. 15

o
X Photographs in

Rudolph Burckhardt:
the text

p. 8

Guy and Elizabeth, New York: p. 15

Courtesy Brice Marden: p. 21

Andre Morain, Paris: pp. 18, 24-25

Eric Pollitzer, New York: p. 15

Nathan Rabin, New York: p. 21

Supplementary Photographs

Courtesy Brice Marden: p. 59

Andrew Strait, New York: p. 6

Cover photograph courtesy Locksley Shea

Gallery, Minneapolis

68
Exhibition 75/2

2,000 copies of this catalogue designed by

Malcolm Grear Designers have been typeset by
Dumar Typesetting, Inc. and printed by The
Meriden Gravure Company in February 1975
for the Trustees of The Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation on the occasion of the exhibition
Brice Marden