Peter Halley
Previous generations of abstract painters described their rectangular coloured compositions as either representations of universal and harmonic balance - like Mondrian or Malevich; or as evocations of the Supreme, notions beyond human understanding - such as Newman or Rothko.
Halley suggests another way of interpreting geometric abstraction. For the artist, it can be re-interpreted as an analogy of the underlying structures that govern technological societies.
In his essays, the artist exposes his case like a re-contextualized abstraction that represents not an escape towards mysticism, but a social and aesthetic critic.
The exhibition draws on the museum’s own extensive collection of works by the artist—including masterpieces from across his long career—supplemented by key works from other public and private collections, and provides an extended glimpse into the prolific production of this 91-year-old painter. Featuring about ninety works—including some of the artist’s most important paintings—the exhibition will offer visitors a retrospective overview of this seminal artist’s oeuvre from the 1950s to today.
