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Joan Thorne's Ega, a square painting with layered, colorful lines. a large, dark form is outlined in yellow, and is crossed by an overlapping thin, white line

Joan Thorne (b. 1943), United States, Ega, 1979, oil on canvas, Gift of Ronnie and John Shore, 2018.215, © Joan Thorne

Sam Gilliam's Tequila, a horizontal painting in golden yellows, with smaller rectangular sections and a layer of coarse green strokes across the painting

Sam Gilliam (b. 1933), United States, Tequila, 1979, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Gift of Ronnie and John Shore, 2018.194, © 2019 Sam Gilliam / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Nancy Graves, Strobia, a large, square painting filled with swirling ribbons of various colors. Scattered throughout are coral shaped blots. On the right side are eight dots in a vertical line, three white on top then green, yellow, orange, and red

Nancy Graves (1939–1995), United States, Strobia, 1978, oil and encaustic on canvas, Gift of Ronnie and John Shore, 2018.195, © 2019 Nancy Graves Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Elizabeth Murray's Flesh, Earth and Sky, a rectangular painting hung at an angle, with a red and a green form intersecting one another on a jagged yellow rectangle

Elizabeth Murray (1940–2007), United States, Flesh, Earth and Sky, 1979, Gift of Ronnie and John Shore, 2018.196, © 2019 The Murray-Holman Family Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Lois Lane's Untitled, an abstract painting of two outstretched arms on either side of a field of black canvas. The arm on the left has a white pinky finger. The arm on the right has a white index finger

Lois Lane (b. 1948), United States, Untitled, 1979, oil on canvas, Gift of Ronnie and John Shore, 2018.213

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American Painting: The Eighties Revisited

March 12–October 11, 2021 (Galleries 301, 302, and 303)
New Presentation: November 20, 2021–January 30, 2022 (Schiff Gallery and Balcony, Galleries 234 and 235)

Free admission. Press Release

 

Reconstituting the landmark exhibition American Painting: The Eighties from New York University’s Grey Art Gallery exhibition in 1979, American Painting: The Eighties Revisited captures a pivotal moment in twentieth century art. It features abstract paintings by artists, including Sam Gilliam, Nancy Graves, and Elizabeth Murray, all of whom were new to the New York art scene at the time. American Painting: The Eighties toured to Houston, Texas, then to 13 cities abroad, from Paris to Tel Aviv.

Along the way, a lively argument ensued about the direction that art was headed: would the best paintings reflect back on the Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s, or would they launch from the subsequent Pop Art or Minimalist movements?

All 41 artists featured in the original exhibition are shown here, including 35 paintings shown at the Grey Art Gallery. This collection has been acquired by the Cincinnati Art Museum through the generosity of Ronnie and John Shore.

Organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum, Guest Curator Kate Bonansinga

 

See The Exhibition Online, With Commentary

Explore American Painting: The Eighties Revisited from your device with this immersive digital tour. Featuring narration by guest curator Kate Bonansinga (Director of the School of Art, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati), this virtual walkthrough gives visitors a deeper experience with this groundbreaking exhibition.

 

Experience The Virtual Tour

 

American Painting: The Eighties, A Critical Interpretation

Conversation with Artist Joan Thorne

Watch this online conversation with Joan Thorne, one of the artists featured in American Painting: The Eighties Revisited that took place on August 25, 2021. Joan shares images of her body of work while talking about her life and artistic process with guest curator Kate Bonansinga.