Craig Burnett Examines Philip Guston's 'The Studio' in New Afterall Publication
Afterall has published 'Philip Guston: The Studio', a book by Craig Burnett analyzing Guston's 1969 painting that depicts a Ku Klux Klan member painting a self-portrait. The work marks Guston's transition from abstract expressionism to late figurative style. Burnett explores the painting's engagement with painting's history and limitations, its existential 'play of self' and 'Kierkegaardian despair', and the compositional influence of artists like Piero della Francesca. The book highlights the central column of smoke as a compositional device and ghost of abstraction.
Key facts
- Philip Guston's 'The Studio' (1969) depicts a KKK member painting a self-portrait.
- The painting is key in Guston's shift from abstract expressionism to late figurative style.
- Craig Burnett authored the book 'Philip Guston: The Studio' published by Afterall.
- Burnett examines Guston's engagement with painting's history and limitations in his last decade.
- The painting signals a move away from medium-centric modernist abstraction.
- Burnett references Kierkegaardian despair and the influence of Piero della Francesca.
- The column of smoke in the painting is described as a 'passage of supreme poetry'.
- The book is available via MIT Press and previewable on Google Books.
Entities
Artists
- Philip Guston
- Craig Burnett
- Piero della Francesca
Institutions
- Afterall
- MIT Press
Sources
- Afterall —