Al Loving's 1970s Canvas Wall Hangings at Gary Snyder Gallery Reveal Experimental Transition

Gary Snyder Gallery in New York City presented "Al Loving: Torn Canvas" from November 8 to December 29, 2012, focusing on the artist's pivotal 1970s wall compositions. These works, made from dyed and stitched canvas strips, marked a departure from his earlier geometric abstractions and preceded his later paper collages. Al Loving (1935-2005), who became the first African-American artist with a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1969, created these pieces during a restless period seeking personal expression. The exhibition featured five large fabric wall pieces, some reaching 14 feet high and 12 feet wide, with organized compositions and muted colors achieved through Tintex dye. Notable works included Untitled #32 (circa 1975), shaped like an inverted pyramid, and an untitled piece (circa 1974-1975) with warm subway map-like patterns. Smaller 1980s paper collages were also displayed, including a 1982 untitled work with colored dots on a glowing field. Loving's approach differed from predecessors like Sam Gilliam and process artists such as Robert Morris, Eva Hesse, and Alan Saret, as he sought a rapprochement between modernism and postmodernism rather than adversarial critique. His color sensibility, influenced by his MFA studies at the University of Michigan under Al Mullen—a student of Hans Hofmann—featured clear, harmonious hues reminiscent of jazz, reflecting his fandom for the genre.