Lee Krasner exhibition at the Barbican: Five things to know about the American artist

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Lizzie Thomson30 May 2019

The Barbican’s latest exhibition is a retrospective on American artist Lee Krasner — the first in Europe for more than half a century.

The show shines a much-needed light on Krasner’s work, which is often overshadowed by her husband, fellow artist Jackson Pollock.

The exhibition pulls together pieces from 50 international collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the National Gallery of Washington.

Here are five things to know about Krasner to mark the Barbican's summer blockbuster.

The exhibition is the biggest showcase of her work in decades

With more than 100 works from across her 50-year career, the show features a whole range of the gems, from Krasner’s early self-portraits to charcoal life drawings.

The only Krasner piece currently in a UK public collection is Gothic Landscape at Tate Modern.

Krasner made collages with her old pieces

As a pioneer in abstract expressionism, Krasner was known for her inventive spirit. This is something emphasised throughout the show, and can be seen in her famous collages, which were made with offcuts from earlier disregarded pieces.

Krasner saw one of her earliest exhibitions as a failure with none of her pieces selling. As a result, she ripped up some old drawings in frustration and glued them to the canvases from the show. These darker, clashing pieces stand out from her signature vibrant creations.

She's known for her Little Image series

As well as her famous large-scale pieces, the Barbican's show features works from Krasner's 1940s Little Image painting series — a title she gave to the collection that she made in a small bedroom in her and Pollock's home, while he used a converted barn as his studio.

Krasner's cramped working space can be seen through her painting techniques. The mosaic images were created by thick build-up of paint, while her webbed paintings were made through a drip technique where the paintbrush was always close to the canvas, and often paint was applied straight from the tube.

Little Image was in many ways her breakthrough series, putting her on the map as an artist.

Krasner took over her husband's art studio when he died

During the 1960s, following Pollock’s sudden death in a car crash in 1956, Krasner started to thrive creatively, channelling her loss into emotive pieces.

In a bold move she decided to take over her late husband's art studio. Many critics say it was during this period Krasner found her artistic voice and natural stride in art.

Works from this time feature in the exhibition, including her 1964 piece Icarus, which many believe to have the face of Pollock himself on its right side. Other works to look out for include Guardian (1960), Happy Lady (1963) and Siren (1966).

Some of her pieces have never been exhibited in Europe before

Living Colour will showcase a number of the artist's works in the UK for the first time, including the mighty Combat (1965), which stretches more than four metres in length. It usually resides in the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia.

Lee Krasner: Living Colour opens May 30 at the Barbican and runs until September 1, barbican.org.uk

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