On view at the Guggenheim after a careful, thorough cleaning, Jackson Pollock’s “Alchemy” is part of an exhibit that looks at the birth of the modern avant-garde in the US. The painting comes to New York after 50 years in Venice.
The analysis of the painting by the conservation team revealed that Pollock used both house enamel paint and oils in the work, and also ground sand and pebbles into the canvas. The surface analysis, which is shared on an interactive touch screen monitor as well as with a three-dimensionally printed facsimile, shows the depths of his paint application and a rich topography that gives his paintings their characteristic complicated depth and presence.
The exhibit continues through Sept. 6, 2017.
We have previously posted a story on a study of the techniques Pollock used to build the layers of the painting “Lavender Mist” which is featured in the book Abstract Painting: Concepts and Techniques.