Leon Kossoff's Early Paintings 1957-1967 Exhibited at Mitchell-Innes & Nash in New York

From February 17 to March 28, 2009, Mitchell-Innes & Nash presented "Leon Kossoff: From the Early Years 1957-1967" at 534 West 26th Street in New York City. The exhibition featured ten paintings, mostly around five by four feet, offering American audiences their first opportunity to view this significant body of work. Kossoff's early paintings are characterized by thick impasto, somber earthy tones of brown, green, and red, and a sculptural quality that defies Clement Greenberg's emphasis on flatness. The works depict nudes, family members, and city streets with a heavy, melancholic mood that reflects post-war angst. Critics note surprising affinities with Robert Rauschenberg's combines and Edward Kienholz's work, despite Kossoff's humanist subjects. John Berger once described Kossoff's paintings as looking like "coloured, solidified engine grease." The viewing experience requires distance to properly discern the figures, as seen in works like "Father Seated in an Armchair no. 2" (1960) and "Seated Nude no. 1" (1963). Kossoff's method involves extended drawing before painting, with the artist stating he experiences "a huge emptying of all factual and topographical knowledge" before finishing a picture. These early works contrast with his later lyrical, softly illuminated mature style, yet demonstrate his ability to balance gravity and levity within the School of London milieu alongside Frank Auerbach and Lucian Freud.