The abstract Baroque: an explanation

The late 1960s to the early 1970s, was a period characterized by a frenzied search for what was still possible, and Kenneth Showell was someone who curators, collectors, and other artists were following. Showell was represented by the prestigious David Whitney Gallery which featured the work of painters such as Dan Christiansen, David Reed, Mary Heilman, Pat Lipsky, and Ronnie Landfield. These artists were coming to be critical grouped under the heading Lyrical Abstraction. At the time, Showell’s work garnered significant attention and was included in numerous museum exhibitions and private collections.

Showell had a reputation for making paintings that had a sense of spontaneity, sensuousness and opticality. His work in the late 1960 - early 70s represents a high point for post-AbEx painting by the mixing multiple of approaches. Showell was among a group of young painters whose works sought to be unorthodox in their mingling of color-field’s concern with post-Minimalism’s emphasis on process and materiality. In this period he was best known for his spray paintings which were simultaneously trompe l’oeil and literally flat. To make these paintings he would spray gun color from different directions onto a crumpled canvas. When stretched the canvas appeared to still be wrinkled.

Always restless, at the height of his popularity Showell began to explore alternative strategies and motifs. These abstract works, made privately in the late 70s – early 80s, retain his interest in color, surface, opticality, and an emphasis on process. Showell appears to have intuited the pictorial turn that abstract painting would take in the post-Modern era. Retaining his baroque aesthetic, he continues to work in a non- systemic manner, producing a series of paintings and works on paper that employ distorted grids, linear elements, and irregular overlaid geometric forms. Soon afterwards, for personal reasons, he abandons abstract painting all together, and turns to making landscapes and still-lives for his own enjoyment.

What is most impressive about Showell’s abstract work is that, though not very well known, they continue to gain attention when appearing in group exhibitions or museum collections. One wonders why they don’t know this artist’s work? Showell’s paintings recall a practice indicative of an era, not developed in isolation, nor a product of a single concerted effort or determination. Consequently, as part of abstract painting’s collective unconsciousness, Showell’s influence is sustained. As we re-evaluate the 60s and 70s, evident in the exhibition High Times, Hard Times curated by Katy Siegel in 2006, Showell’s work is worthy of another look.