Shabazz
Artist
Gene Davis
(American, 1920-1985)
CultureAmerican
Date1965
MediumAcrylic on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 117 3/4 x 86 3/4 in. (299.1 x 220.3 cm)
InscribedUnsigned
Credit LineMuseum Purchase with funds contributed by the Norfolk Bicentennial Commission, Arthur and Renée Diamonstein, Sydney and Frances Lewis, Alexander K. McLanahan, Dr. Eugene Poutasse, Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes, and James and Norma Kline
Object number76.79
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 224
Label TextGene Davis American, 1920–1985 Shabazz, 1965 Acrylic on canvas Music is an art of sound interval, time interval, and painting—my painting—is an art of space intervals. One is time, one is space. –Gene Davis This vertically striped canvas boldly asserts Gene Davis’ interest in color, interval, and rhythm. Although the stripes look carefully delineated and calibrated, they are not preplanned—like musical improvisation. Davis created the work by painting a single color and then by allowing additional colors and sequences to emerge and repeat intuitively as he progressed. Perhaps the best way to experience the work is to follow a similar process. Pick a single color and watch how it interacts with other colors as your eyes move across the painting. Then pick another color and start again. Museum Purchase with funds contributed by the Norfolk Bicentennial Commission, Arthur and Renée Diamonstein, Sydney and Frances Lewis, Alexander K. McLanahan, Dr. Eugene Poutasse, Dr. and Mrs. T. Lane Stokes, and James and Norma Kline 76.79 Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. Published ReferencesDennis R. Anderson, _Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum_, exh. cat., Norfolk, Va., 1975, 236. Martha Drexler Lynn, _Sculpture, Glass, and American Museums_ (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005), 36-43.
