John Seery
American, 1941-
Manhattan Jump, 1974
acrylic on canvas
93” x 70 ½ in.
SBMA, Gift of Mr. Leigh Block
1982.4
Courtesy of the artist
"Sometimes when I begin a painting I have an image of a color that I want to explore. I can be seduced by color. ...it is usually this seduction by a specific color that initiates the painting." - John Seery, 1975
RESEARCH PAPER
John Seery came to prominence in New York in the 1970s as part of a younger generation of painters associated with so-called Lyrical Abstraction. The term was coined by art collector, Larry Aldrich, to define what he had observed in many artists’ studios at that time, a trend in painting that moved away from the geometric, hard-edge, and minimal, toward more lyrical, sensuous, romantic abstractions using colors that were softer and more vibrant. In an interview in 2010, Seery states: “This period was not an act of contrivance by the artists. Many at the time thought Lyrical Abstraction was reaction against some previous form of painting, but in reality it was an affirmation of painting. Rather than attacking the painting from the outside, it was more of an entering into or inhabiting the painting” (Seery, “John Seery: New Work”, 2010).
“Manhattan Jump” measures 93”x 70 ½ “and its large-scale format is meant to heighten the effects of immediacy and intimacy. Standing in front of the painting, the viewer has an actual feeling of falling into it. The magnetism of that atmospheric space, drenched as it is with electric blue and filled with dancing fragments of color, demands immersion and begins to reveal Seery’s intention with this work. A gray, amorphous shape, billowing up and out of the lower third of the painting, attempts to enclose the pool of blue while creeping along the edges of the canvas. The vibrant, orange oblong at the bottom, its painted surface deliberately scraped thin and flat, anchors and electrifies the blue with true complementary power. All sorts of off-primary colors present a pulsating performance of pigments. And yet these colored drips, splotches, dots and spots, wind-swept dashes, and brush-stroked blots appear to be in perfect harmony with each other. Seery explains: “….the painting is sort of an organizational meeting where there is a harmony among the parts and where, if a new part is to be accepted, it must be agreed upon by the other parts. If this kind of coherence does not exist, it should be discarded. To achieve this harmony, the painter sometimes has to take drastic measures to keep the painting alive; this is true for matters of hue, intensity, placement and amount”. (Seery, Artist’s Statement, 1975, pg. 24).
Like many young artists during the 1970s, Seery preferred to work with acrylic, the new “plastic paint”. Its water-soluble base meant it dried faster than oil-based paint and allowed for the spontaneity of expression Seery desired. In “Manhattan Jump” his technique exposes to the viewer his sheer indulgence in the process of painting, e.g., the loose, gestural brushstrokes, the uneven densities of paint, the individualized blotching, pouring and scraping of the surface, the painterly and distinct personality of each mark. He uses brushes, sticks, strips of cardboard and even his hands to drip, splatter and scrape the paint while allowing his intuition to direct the work. “For myself, the intuition seems to be the best way to discovery”. (Seery, 1975, pg. 24) Photographs of Seery’s New York studio reveal his “modus operandi” - painting on the studio floor. “He works in a dimly lit space, proceeding from feeling to vision; he paints with that combination of touch and extraordinary acute sight we call a painter’s gesture. Seery doesn’t express feeling; he feels in painting” (Tonkin, “A dialogue in paint: John Seery’s East and Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles”, n.d.).
Is there special meaning or significance in the title “Manhattan Jump”? Is Seery’s inspired use of color meant to evoke the ephemeral and elusory atmosphere of New York City? Do the colors resonate with one another on a deeper level, creating a sort of visual hum? The answers are left up to the viewer. However, Seery has shared his idea of creation itself: “It is a natural function of the human mind. It transcends the mundaneness of existence ... it inspires people to live, gives hope and wakes the world from mediocrity. Creation inspires creation”. (Tonkin, “A dialogue in paint: John Seery’s East and Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles”, n.d ).
John Seery was born in 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied at Miami University, Ohio, the Cincinnati Art Academy, and Ohio State University. In 1964, he moved to New York where he met a number of the major artists associated with Abstract Expressionism, such as de Kooning. His first solo exhibition in 1970 was at the Andre Emmerich Gallery, N.Y. His first solo exhibit on the West Coast in 1977 was at Reed College, Portland, Oregon. His work is included in collections at the Whitney, Guggenheim, Hirshhorn, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among others. In 2010, a show titled “John Seery: New Work” was held at the Garboushian Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA. His comments regarding the new works: “My new oil paintings have a more aggressively direct and powerful presence. The richness and texture of the new work is something I could never have achieved with acrylics. They were all painted outdoors, which is something I’ve never done before” (Seery, “John Seery: New Work”, 2010).
Prepared for the SBMA Docent Council by Joan Dewhirst, April, 2012.
Bibliography
Aldrich, Larry. “Lyrical Abstraction, History of the term in America”, exhibition statement, 1970.
http://www.enotes.com/topic/LyricalAbstraction
Cook, Michael. “Lyrical Abstraction as an Artform: a visual essay”. 2008
http://www.artinsight.com/lyrical_abstraction.html
Geitlein, Mark. “Living With Art”. 2008. 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hughes, Robert. “American Visions”. 2009. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Lynn, Elwyn. “Thoughts on Seery”. Art International November 15, 1974.
Ratcliff, Carter. “The New Informalists”. ARTnews February 1970. pp. 47-49.
Rhyne, Charles. “John Seery Paintings 1971-76”. 1977. Reed College, Portland, Oregon.
Exhibition announcement.
Seery, John. Artist’s Statement in “Image, Color and Form: Recent paintings by Eleven
Americans”. Toledo, Ohio. Toledo Museum of Art, 1975. Exhibition Catalogue.
Seery, John. “John Seery: New Work”. Whitewall Magazine, May 11, 2010.
http://www.whitewallmag.com
Tonkin, Steven. “A Dialogue in Paint: John Seery’s East and Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles”.
Assistant Curator, Research, National Gallery Australia, Sydney. Unpublished article received from Charles Rhyne, retired gallery director, Reed College. Portland, Oregon.