Martin Hurtig at UIMA

Complexities and  Contradictions (1966)

There are five distinct styles of abstract painting in this retrospective of Martin Hurtig (b. 1929) spanning the last four decades of the twentieth century. The earliest piece, dating to 1963, is so typical of the gestural abstract expression of the previous decade, it might even have been intended to exemplify it. There is struggle, passion, and frustration as a grand, serpentine gesture culminates beneath a thick red X. Whether or not that meant that the artist was finished with making heroic gestures, we certainly don’t see any more in this exhibit. In the next piece, “Complexities and Contradictions” (1966) we see broad calligraphic strokes and squiggles dancing above a pattern of floating rectangles of solid color. It’s decorative and balletic; and it might remind us that the artist was trained at IIT’s Institute of Design in the 1950’s. In all the paintings that follow, painterly self expression will continue to complement, or perhaps compete, with the geo-form design of modern architecture.

In some untitled acrylic paintings from the seventies, a flat rectangle of solid color ( red, green, or white) emerges from one side of the panel and nearly reaches the other. The margins fight back with strong colors and arbitrary edges, but clearly the battle is being lost. Then, the geometric-forms leave the painting altogether and re-emerge as sculpture. The plexiglass constructions that hang from the wall resemble architectural models for office cubicles. The freestanding pieces block out their space on the floor with aggressive, sharp angles. Be careful! If you stumble into one, it could do some damage. Be especially careful of the waist high aluminum trapezoids called “La Famille”. What a combative, dysfunctional family it must refer to. By the 1990’s, the geo-forms have moved back to the walls, this time as aggressive black and white patterns. The smaller ones might serve as pictograms for hazardous material warnings – the larger ones as wall decor for the hi-tech lairs of James Bond villains. But a few years later, in 1999, the artist returned to a more colorful, painterly kind of painting with blurry ,nearly repetitive patterns. They appear bland at first sight, but reward longer study with subtle rhythms and variations. These two pieces are really quite pleasing – the yellows and greens of the one puts you in the middle of a spring garden – the blues and reds of the other feel like a patriotic parade.

Overall, this body of work, like most architecture, is more about the effective use of line, color, and angle than about anything explicitly personal or social. When color is used, it seems to be perfectly tuned for the space that it occupies – except for a large patch of olive green that is truly annoying. The variety of familiar styles might suggest that these are impersonal, academic exercises, appropriate for an artist who was also directing a university department of art and design. Perhaps, however, the changes chart the course of the artist’s life - from the excitement of self discovery to the challenges of career and family to the comfortable golden years of retirement. A successful life in the modern world. My favorite pieces are the two etchings from 1967 that seem to strike the best balance between the artist’s calligraphic and geo-form impulses. They seem to embody the spirit of the improvisational jazz of that era.