[Looking Forward] Simon Hantaï @ Mnuchin Gallery in New York

In Paris in 1960, at a time when the avant-garde was mourning the death of painting, Simon Hantaï  (1922 – 2008) chose not to abandon or destroy the medium but rather to reinvent it. Triggered by Jackson Pollock, Hantaï began by laying his unstretched canvas on the floor. He went on to fold and knot the material before painting its crumpled surface, causing the folded areas to remain unpainted.  When unfolded and stretched, the canvas revealed fragmented planes of pure pigment glinting and winking among scattered fields of negative space. Starting April 28th, Mnuchin Gallery presents an exhibition of paintings by Simon Hantaï. Simon Hantaï | Pliage: The First Decade will present a focused look at the 1960s, his first mature decade.