Lee Krasner Living colour

Lee Krasner: Living Colour catalogues a 2018 retrospective exhibition at the Barbican in London (in collaboration with three other European museums). Though best known for her marriage to Jackson Pollock, Krasner (1908--84) emerges here as meriting consideration in her own right. Together with Mary Gabriel's biographical narrative of the lives of abstract expressionist women (Ninth Street Women, 2018), this exhibition and catalogue provide extensive evidence of Krasner's significance to the New York School. Unlike Pollock and fellow expressionists who had notably distinct signature styles, Krasner was a consummate experimenter, and this aspect of her practice is emphasized in essays by Eleanor Nairne and Katy Siegel (on her organicism), John Yau (on her literary influences), and Suzanne Hudson (on her historical self-awareness). A previously unpublished interview with Gail Levin (author of Lee Krasner: A Biography, 2011) and an expansive annotated chronology supplement this portrait. The book's most noteworthy contribution is its visual impact: full-color images provide a wide-ranging accounting of Krasner's artistic life and show work that is rarely reproduced, e.g., student drawings and archival photos of Krasner's "War Service Windows" designs, commissioned by the Works Progress Administration. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Dawna L. Schuld, Texas A&M University

Edited by Barbican curator Nairne (Basquiat: Boom for Real), this wonderful catalog of artist Lee Krasner's (1908--84) first retrospective European show will renew interest in the artist since her two stateside retrospectives decades ago. Fresh perspectives interpret the artist's processes and themes referencing environmental or literary influences, as well as describe her place in postwar art history. A newly edited interview with Gail Levin, author of a 2011 biography of Krasner, showcases the intellect, abstraction, and mystery as evidenced in Krasner's life and art. Handsome color reproductions presenting an array of Krasner's work include earlier pieces reinvented into new collages. Researchers will appreciate the careful documentation and chronology of an art world with an underrepresentation of female artists, as well as the examinations of Krasner's relationships with husband Jackson Pollock and other mentors. VERDICT With this work, a new generation of students, feminists, and art lovers will discover one of the first women to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art as well as better understand her relevance and appeal today. This should sit nicely next to earlier retrospective catalogs by Barbara Rose and Robert Carleton Hobbs.--Marianne Laino Sade, Washington Coll., Chestertown, MD