Gaea
Lee Krasner
American, 1908–1984
1966
A monumental oil on canvas in which Lee Krasner drives sweeping, scraped and poured gestures of pink, white, and dark pigment into biomorphic forms meant to evoke the fecund, churning force of Gaea (the earth).
Up close the painting reads like a tumult of oversized, fleshy ovals and scoured white passages carved out of a deep purple-black ground—paint that looks both poured and violently dragged, producing a breathless sense of movement and buried depth.
Created in 1966, Gaea exemplifies Krasner’s mature synthesis of Surrealist biomorphism and Action Painting, asserting a distinctly feminine, monumental voice that expanded the emotional and formal possibilities of Abstract Expressionism.
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
69" x 10' 5 1/2" (175.3 x 318.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Kay Sage Tanguy Fund
Accession
212.1977
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
