Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist
On view through September 8, 2019
Phoenix Art Museum
Phoenix, Arizona
www.phxart.org
“Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist” is the first survey of this obscure American painter in over 24 years.
Agnes Pelton (1881-1961) painted conventional desert landscapes to make a living, but it was her abstract studies of earth and light, biomorphic compositions of delicate veils, shimmering stars, and atmospheric horizon lines, that distinguished her work. A believer in numerology, astrology, and faith healing, Pelton’s abstract compositions propelled her into an esoteric world epitomized by the Transcendental Painting Group (1938-1942), a short-lived group that promoted abstract, non-objective art. Although Pelton received some attention during her lifetime, she has been relatively unknown within the field of American Art.
Over forty works comprise this exhibition shedding light on Pelton’s artistic contribution to American Modernism, while examining her practice against a broader, international framework of spiritual and esoteric abstraction.
Image: Agnes Pelton, Departure, 1952. Oil on canvas. Collection of Mike Stoller and Corky Hale Stoller. Photo: Paul Salveson.
