Walter Darby Bannard Reflects on Early Reductive Paintings and Greenberg's Legacy in 2015 Interview
The Berry Campbell Gallery in New York unveiled Walter Darby Bannard's exhibition titled "Minimal Color Field Paintings, 1958-1965" on March 19, 2015, which will be on display until April 18. In an interview with Franklin Einspruch, Bannard shared insights about his journey as a third-generation Abstract Expressionist, influenced by artists such as Jules Olitski and Frank Stella. He reminisced about his early intrigue with abstraction, inspired by Ben Nicholson and Willem de Kooning. Bannard’s reductive works drew from Clyfford Still and Barnett Newman, while he dismissed Cubist simplicity. He also reflected on his interactions with critic Clement Greenberg, discussing their discussions and the often-misunderstood legacy of Greenberg, highlighting the ongoing vitality of painting and the innovative potential for abstract artists.
Key facts
- Walter Darby Bannard's exhibition "Minimal Color Field Paintings, 1958-1965" was held at Berry Campbell Gallery from March 18 to April 18, 2015.
- Bannard is a third-generation Abstract Expressionist who emerged in the mid-1960s with friends Jules Olitski and Frank Stella.
- He was influenced by artists like Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman, and Ben Nicholson, but rejected Cubist-derived simplicity.
- Bannard met critic Clement Greenberg in 1958 and maintained a relationship involving frequent debates about art.
- He stopped making reductive paintings in the mid-1960s due to boredom and the laborious process of layering paint.
- Bannard participated in the 1966 "Painting Is Dead" panel at New York University with Robert Rauschenberg and Donald Judd.
- He argued that Greenberg's writing was misunderstood and enraged the art world for its clarity and focus on quality.
- Bannard suggested abstract painters could explore color mechanics and innovation by forming their own artistic tribe.
Entities
Artists
- Walter Darby Bannard
- Jules Olitski
- Frank Stella
- Clement Greenberg
- Franklin Einspruch
- Bill Seitz
- Willem de Kooning
- Ben Nicholson
- Mark Rothko
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Ad Reinhardt
- Piet Mondrian
- Kazimir Malevich
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Adolph Gottlieb
- Jackson Pollock
- Winslow Homer
- Milton Avery
- Edward Hopper
- Giorgio Morandi
- Georges Matthieu
- Horacio Torres
- Rembrandt
- Robert Indiana
- Jim Dine
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Claes Oldenberg
- Merce Cunningham
- Yvonne Rainier
- Andy Warhol
- Kenneth Noland
- Paul Klee
- Henri Matisse
- Morris Louis
- Hans Hofmann
- Rex Stewart
- Louis Armstrong
- Gregory Corso
- Jack Kerouac
- Allen Ginsberg
- Amiri Baraka
- LeRoi Jones
- Carl Andre
- Hollis Frampton
- Donald Judd
- Larry Poons
- Barbara Rose
Institutions
- Berry Campbell Gallery
- University of Miami
- Department of Art and Art History at the University of Miami
- Princeton University
- Museum of Modern Art
- Tibor de Nagy Gallery
- New York University
- French & Co.
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Coral Gables
- Florida
- Princeton
- New Jersey