Roman Opalka's Early Works and Infinity Series at Dominique Lévy Gallery
From September 4 to October 18, 2014, the Dominique Lévy Gallery in New York showcased "Roman Opalka: Painting ∞," which featured works created between 1959 and 1963, prior to his 1 – ∞ series. The exhibition included seven pieces from the Etude sur le mouvement series and two Chronome works from 1963, illustrating Opalka's transition from gestural abstraction to a methodical approach to number painting. His early Etudes transformed from spontaneous black ink scribbles to intricate dot patterns. Beginning in 1965, Opalka counted to infinity, painting each number across 233 canvases until his passing in 2011, with the background shifting from black to white by 2008. The exhibition drew connections to Ad Reinhardt and On Kawara. The gallery was situated at 909 Madison Avenue at 73rd Street in New York City.
Key facts
- Roman Opalka: Painting ∞ exhibition ran September 4 to October 18, 2014 at Dominique Lévy Gallery
- Featured works from 1959-1963 preceding Opalka's 1 – ∞ series
- Included seven Etude sur le mouvement works on paper and two Chronome pieces from 1963
- Opalka began counting to infinity in 1965, completing 233 canvases by his 2011 death
- Each canvas contained 20-30,000 consecutive numbers painted with fading white pigment
- Background color evolved from black to white through 1% incremental additions
- Opalka recorded himself speaking numbers and took self-portraits after each work session
- Exhibition drew comparisons to Ad Reinhardt and On Kawara's temporal explorations
Entities
Artists
- Roman Opalka
- Ad Reinhardt
- On Kawara
- Samuel Beckett
Institutions
- Dominique Lévy Gallery
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- 909 Madison Avenue
- 73rd Street