CHURCH & ROTHKO
Sublime Light at Mnuchin Gallery
New York’s Mnuchin Gallery is hosting the exhibition Church & Rothko: Sublime, which connects two of America’s most famous artists: Nineteenth-century painter Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) and twentieth-century painter Mark Rothko (1903-1970). The show is available both as a virtual walkthrough as well as in-person by appointment only.
It is the first time these artists’ works are presented together and in concert with one another. Both were members of different artistic movements and were not even alive simultaneously (Church died three years before Rothko was born.) At first, Church’s figurative paintings seem like the complete opposite of Rothko’s abstract works, but, despite these apparent differences, they may have more in common than one might think. It becomes visible when contemplating each artist’s version of the sublime in connection with one another.
Frederic Edwin Church’s beautiful landscapes capture incredible beauty, American nature, and vivid details. The Hudson River School member is well-known for his remarkable rendering of light and reflections in nature, creating extremely colorful and emotional pieces. Mark Rothko was also known for his large-scale Color Field paintings. Like Church, Rothko’s mission was to evoke deep emotion, but through abstract works without any traces of the external world (and caused them to be misunderstood by most of society at the time.) Apart from his larger pieces, the exhibit also features lesser-known smaller paintings from later in his career.
The idea for the exhibition came about when the gallery’s founder, Robert Mnuchin, noticed the similarities between Church’s Marine Sunset (The Black Sea) (1881-1882) and Rothko’s Browns and Blacks in Reds (1957.) Although the works are different styles, the similarity in tone, depth, and the atmosphere is hard to miss once you see them exhibited side by side. A similar approach is taken with the other featured works, and it is gratifying to observe how well they go together and how important color was to both artists.
It is often oddly satisfying and eye-opening to come across a show that draws similarities between artists not typically thought of in the same context. Besides sharing a nationality, Church and Rothko are rarely compared to each other or studied at the same time, but Church & Rothko: Sublime argues that their works and careers were, in fact, not that different.
The show exhibits seventeen works by Church and ten by Rothko and made possible thanks to Michael N. Altman’s contributions, collector of Church’s work, and Christopher Rothko, son of Mark Rothko. It is incredibly detailed and comprehensive, with educational videos that accompany the paintings in the virtual exhibit. As the show is on during a pandemic (September 30, 2020, to March 13, 2021) a lot of effort went into making it an enjoyable and safe experience for everyone (once again proving online’s potential for gallery exhibits.) If one chooses to see the works in person, there are also limited viewings by appointment only. No matter where you are in the world, make sure to check out this stunning show before it is too late.
