The Stars of the Washington Color School Get a Transcendent Survey—See It Here

“IMPULSE”
Pace London
November 3, 2017–December 22, 2017

What the Gallery Says: “Unprecedented experiments in pure color, improvisational techniques and the sculptural potential of painting in the 1960s and ’70s by Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Sam Gilliam, Ed Clark, and Frank Bowling.”

Why It’s Worth a Look: The Washington Color School comes to London, including a late, great Louis canvas from 1958 lent by a private collector, plus another from the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. The only thing missing in the white-cube gallery is a cool, John Coltrane soundtrack.

What It Looks Like:

Morris Lewis, Plenitude. installed at Pace London. Photo by Damian Griffiths.

Frank Bowling (left) and Kenneth Noland’s work installed at “Impulse,” Pace London. Photo by Damian Griffiths.

Sam Gilliam (left) and Ed Clark’s work installed at “Impulse,” Pace London. Photo by Damian Griffiths.

Work by Sam Gilliam installed at “Impulse,” at Pace London. Photo by Damian Griffiths.

Work by (left to right) Sam Gilliam, Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis installed at “Impulse,” Pace London. Photo by Griffiths.

Morris Louis, Number 1-71 (1962). Collection Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven. The Netherlands. Photograph by Peter Cox.

Frank Bowling, Curtain (1974). Image courtesy Pace.

Sam Gilliam, On Blue (1967). Image courtesy Pace.

Kenneth Noland, Indo (1977). Image courtesy Pace.

Kenneth Noland, Egyptian Cryptic (1978). Image courtesy Pace.