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clyfford still | museum
A large abstract oil painting hangs on a wall next to a much smaller framed pastel drawing with similar colors
L: PPX-4, c. 1930, pastel and crayon on paper, 8.75 x 11.75 in.
R: PH-227, 1954, oil on canvas, 104.625 x 117.25 in.

Artists Select: Jonas Burgert

May 3 – Sep 22, 2019

The question is not what an artist like Clyfford Still sees, but what he wants to see. — Jonas Burgert

Berlin-based painter Jonas Burgert curated the collection as part of the Museum’s Artists Select series. Burgert (b. 1969) is well known internationally for his oftentimes large-scale, hyper-realist figurative paintings imbued with mysterious narratives. The artist’s curation takes full advantage of the Museum’s rich holdings through an imaginative, thought-provoking selection that delves into Still’s process and the interrelationships between Still’s paintings and drawings. The exhibition filled the Museum’s final five galleries, culminating in the last room with an array of Still’s mature large-scale abstractions.

(L) PD-81, 1936. Graphite on paper, 12 x 9 in.; (R) PP-879, 1976. Pastel on paper, 18 x 12 in. © City and County of Denver / ARS, NY
(L) PDX-540, ca. 1933–41. Graphite on paper, 5 x 3 in.; (R) PH-894, 1973. Oil on canvas, 98.75 x 87.75 in. © City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

Conceived to provide artists and other creative professionals with the opportunity to propose new perspectives on the vast collection held at the Museum, the Artists Select series was launched in 2015 and since that time has involved such figures as Mark Bradford, Roni Horn, Mark Mothersbaugh, and Julian Schnabel.