The Andrea Ingenito Contemporary Art Gallery is delighted to announce the exhibition of the American artist Mark Tobey, entitled “Armonie Interiori”. The exhibition will be held from March 21st to May 11th, 2024, at our gallery in Milan, on Via Lodovico Settala 59.
The exhibition is a result of collaboration with Mark Tobey’s Hachmeister Archive and with some significant Italian and foreign private collections.
In the main hall of the gallery, there will be 15 unique works strongly representative of the artist’s oeuvre, including World of Stones from 1959, exhibited in one of Tobey’s most important solo shows at the Musée d’Art Décoratif in Paris in 1961; in the second room, another 10 high-quality works will be displayed, available in a numbered edition.
A selection of works that spans the subtlest and most symbolic nuances of Tobey’s art.
The artist has left an indelible mark on contemporary art: he is known to have been a pioneer of modern painting, particularly a precursor to American abstract expressionism that later inspired the art of Jackson Pollock. Pollock encountered Tobey’s works through a solo exhibition at the Willard Gallery in New York in 1944, and a few years later, he began his distinctive works using the “dripping” technique, giving rise to «action painting».
Despite the rise of abstract expressionism in New York after World War II, Tobey maintained his characteristic meditative painting style, favoring small formats and refusing to align with any artistic groups in the city. His fame transcended national borders, gaining prominence in Europe through significant exhibitions such as those at the Tate Gallery in London in 1956 or various shows at the Galerie Beyeler in Basel (to name a few).
Tobey’s influence later reached internationally renowned artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Morris Graves, Lee Krasner, and, in later years, served as inspiration for the art of Keith Haring.
One of the distinctive elements of Tobey’s art was his skill in “writing” masses of calligraphy with extremely fine brushes, tempera, and Sumi ink, creating a “multiple space” defined through light.
This gave rise to the technique of «white writing», inspired by his travels to China and Japan and his embrace of the Baha’i religious faith. It transforms the canvas surface into a multidimensional and dynamic territory.
Tobey captured the essence of human experience in a non-verbal manner, conveying emotions through forms and colors that transcend mere language. He left a lasting legacy in the art world, developing a unique style that encompasses various creative phases and cultural influences.
An exploration of themes of spirituality and human interconnectedness, imbued with symbolism, it conveys a sense of harmony and inner peace.
