Ad Reinhardt's 'Abstract painting' and the Gaze
Ad Reinhardt's 1957 painting 'Abstract painting' bears the artist's own generic title on its reverse, a deliberate gesture to emphasize the work's self-contained visual presence. Art historian Yves-Alain Bois challenges this reading, arguing that the viewer experiences not mere abstraction but the narrativization of their own act of looking.
Key facts
- Ad Reinhardt painted 'Abstract painting' in 1957.
- Reinhardt wrote the title on the reverse of the canvas.
- The title is described as generic and without irony.
- Yves-Alain Bois offers a counter-interpretation.
- Bois claims the viewer witnesses the narrativization of their own gaze.
- The painting is discussed in artpress magazine.
- The article was published in May 1991.
- The work is part of Reinhardt's series of abstract paintings.
Entities
Artists
- Ad Reinhardt
- Yves-Alain Bois
Institutions
- artpress
Sources
- artpress —