Richard Pousette-Dart, at Pace Gallery
September 16 – November 18, 2016

“ Every painting is a new experience and a departure into the unknown.”

— Richard Pousette-Dart

“Richard Pousette-Dart: The Centennial” at Pace Gallery (Sept. 16 – Nov. 18, 2016) featured works spanning forty years of the Abstract Expressionist artist’s career. Bark Frameworks worked with the gallery to design frames for some of the 18 paintings featured in this show, which was planned in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Pousette-Dart’s birthday.

Each oil on canvas displayed different patterns and textures — from thin layers of pigment applied with a palette knife, to paint squeezed directly from the tube. When creating frames for these works, Bark frame designer Paul Jordan took proportion, color, and texture into account to present each work in its best light.

Some of the frames were milled from hard maple with a paint casein or spray finish, like the white hued frame for Blue Scroll #2 (1958, Image 1, center). Larger works with more substantial surface texture, like “Yellow Amorphous,” (1950, Images 5 and 6) were best suited with welded brass frames, finished with a dark patina and wax.

We also designed gilded maple frames for a few of the Pousette-Dart paintings, such as Ossi #2 (1958, Images 10 and 11). The faces of the frames are leafed with 9K white gold over yellow clay, while the sides are finished with a simple wax, allowing the wood figure to show through.

To quote Pace’s press release, “these are paintings that reward sustained viewing.”

Photography: Jennifer M. Clark