Concrete Improvisations is the first major American museum exhibition to pair collages and sculptures by the noted abstract painter Esteban Vicente
A distinguished member of the first group of New York School Abstract Expressionists, Vicente (1903–2001) was, like Willem de Kooning, born in Europe, in his case, Spain. Unlike his Dutch contemporary, however, he has not received the large-scale recognition he deserves. An influential teacher—he taught at Yale, Princeton, the University of Puerto Rico, the New York Studio School, New York University, and other schools—his students include Chuck Close and Dorothea Rockburne. Among his most important and lyrical contributions are his collages which, as Elaine de Kooning described in a 1953 Art News essay, are intimately linked to his paintings. Concrete Improvisations also features 20 small-scale sculptures (which he called divertimientos). The approximately 80 works are drawn from public and private collections in Spain and the U.S. Organized by the Grey Art Gallery, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente (Segovia), and the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad, SEACEX, the show is curated by Lynn Gumpert, Edward J. Sullivan, and Ana Martínez de Aguilar, and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.
Concrete Improvisations: Collages and Sculpture, Esteban Vicente
Text in English and Spanish
Essays by Daniel Haxall and Edward J. Sullivan
Published by the Grey Art Gallery, New York University; the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, Segovia; and the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad, SEACEX, 2011
Softcover, 9 1/8 x 10 3/16 inches, 269 pages,
with 101 color illustrations
ISBN: 978-0-615-40409-7
$40.00
www.nyu.edu
