Manny Farber

This exhibition catalogue highlights Farber’s large-scale, process-driven paintings constructed with Kraft paper that were meticulously layered to create a strong foundation for paint. Three foot squares of paper were joined with one inch seams and then cut into decisive shapes: lozenges, trapezoids, ovoids, etc. which he laid out on top of plastic sheeting. First he poured acrylic paint over the surface, dispersed it using rollers then flipped it over onto the plastic to dry - where after a preparatory soaking with water he would repeat this process on the other side using a deliberately different, yet complimentary color, this time adding a sheet of muslin that the paint would be poured over and later removed. The seams guided the water and paint and dictated how the two colors merged and interacted with each other. This method resulted in works where the surface and image became one.