黑料不打烊

Spanierman Gallery, LLC announces the presentation of the first two segments of an ongoing museum-quality survey of the work of American painter Neil Williams (1934-1988) to be held at Spanierman Gallery, LLC, at East Hampton (July 2-August 3) and at Art Hamptons 2009 (July 10-12). Curated by the noted writer and critic Ed Leffingwell (former director of visual arts for the City of Los Angeles and chief curator of P.S. 1 in New York City), the two shows will bring to light the work of an artist who played a significant role in the art scene of the 1960s and 1970s. As Roy Lichtenstein commented: 鈥淣eil Williams had an important underground reputation as a serious artist, apart from the commercial mainstream.鈥� Largely unknown today in the precincts of American contemporary art as a consequence of his decision to decamp to Brazil after a working visit in 1982, throughout his career Williams engaged in dialogue with a number of groundbreaking artists of the time. In the early 1960s, he shared a loft with Mark di Suvero and Robert Grosvenor and shortly thereafter became closely associated with Frank Stella, John Chamberlain, and Larry Poons. The poet Robert Creeley was a friend and admirer. Throughout the years of these and other collegial associations Williams worked against the tide while drawing inspiration from the heady period of experimentation in which his work evolved. He played a critical role in the development of geometric abstraction, the shaped canvas, and Systemic painting, producing a diverse and compelling body of work.