The Art of Jack Roth: Color Line Equations - Spanierman Modern

discovery…For those of us who devote our lives to the art business,one of our passions is discovering a forgotten artist.When that happens, we all share in the exhilaration.Jack Roth created a brilliant body of work over a longcareer, beginning in the late 1940s, when he workedin San Francisco with Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still.Along the way, he became a Guggenheim Fellow—noeasy accomplishment—and joined the legendarystable of artists represented by M. Knoedler & Co. inNew York. Roth painted his way through the majordevelopments in postwar American art, from AbstractExpressionism, through Pop, and ultimately throughColor Field abstraction. His broadly stained canvases ofthe 1970s and ’80s are crisp, fresh, and smart. A brilliantmathematician (and a poet!), Roth brought considerablepowers to the game, placing his unique signature on thedevelopment of abstract painting in America.1. metafour #1, 1980Acrylic on canvas30 x 68 inchesSuffering from poor health for several years prior to hisdeath in 2004, Roth stored away much of his work in anonion barn in Chester, New York—creating a treasurechest waiting to be opened. With this exhibition we hopeto revive interest in a painter of tremendous talent andfervor, whose work is as compelling and vital today aswhen he put brush to canvas over sixty years ago.Ira Spanierman2 3