Hans Hartung's Line and Atmosphere Explored in New York Exhibition at Nahmad Contemporary

Hans Hartung's work is the subject of two major New York gallery presentations, signaling a rediscovery of the artist in the United States. At Nahmad Contemporary, fourteen works spanning four decades reveal his mastery of line and composition. The exhibition runs from January 12 to March 17, 2018, at 980 Madison Avenue. Hartung, a German-born post-war French artist, is shown to have maintained a consistent exploration of line throughout his career. Early pieces like T-1952-3 display gestural slashing, while later works such as T1982-H29 and T1982-K29 feature atmospheric backgrounds with dynamic linear elements. His technical innovations included using a paint-covered tree branch to create energetic marks. The show highlights Hartung's connection to American artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, with whom he shared a friendship. Rothko's visit to Hartung's studio in the late 1940s is noted as influential. Three paintings from 1971 engage with modernist grid principles, liberating geometric forms with a daring color palette. Hartung's spray-gun paintings from after his 1986 stroke are presented as a continuation of his earlier experiments. The exhibition aims to correct the underrepresentation of Hartung in American art discourse, positioning him within both Parisian modernism and American sensibilities.