Robert Goodnough
American, 1917 - 20106-R, 1994
Not on view
Acrylic and oil on canvas
Dimensions46 × 68 in. (116.8 × 172.7 cm)
Gift of Robert Goodnough, 2004.49
A second-generation Abstract Expressionist, Robert Goodnough came to his mature style in the late sixties after years of experimenting with gestural abstraction. It was a time of excitement and change, when many new ideas were emerging. Young artists like Goodnough were seeking ways not only to build on what the Abstract Expressionists had achieved, but also to add to the dialogue. He synthesized various aspects of abstraction, most specifically Synthetic Cubism and Hard-Edge Abstraction, to break through to a pictorial format that consists of triangular shapes, coalesced and set against a minimal, monochromatic field.
With its heavy-handed application of thin, dripping paint, 6-R is a particularly expressionistic example of his late work. As with most of his work from the early 1980s, the triangular shapes are grouped together to form a contiguous abstract shape, setting up a figure/ground dynamic that activates the picture plane and gives movement to the entire painting.
