Color Abstraction — The Joy Project

Continuing the Art of Play
June 16, 2021

Theme: Color Field Painting + Abstraction

Join Zoom Meeting / Class
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87618016665

Artists:

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Morris Louis (November 28, 1912 – September 7, 1962), Morris Louis became one of the leading figures of Color Field painting, along with his contemporaries Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler. In his short yet prolific career, most of which he spent in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Louis continually experimented with method and medium, manipulating large canvases in creative ways to control the flow and stain of his acrylic paints. His mature style, characterized by layered veils and rivulets of poured acrylic paint on untreated canvases, makes his paintings some of the most iconic works of Color Field Painting.

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Marcel Rozek (b.1992) is an abstract artist interested in color relationships and the role of transparency in stain painting.

Originally from Akron, Ohio, and now located in Los Angeles, California, Rozek uses a staining technique pioneered by the early abstractionists and Washington Color School artists to create his richly layered compositions. He aligns himself with these influential artists, most notably Morris Louis, while pushing beyond the successes of his predecessors and creating a new branch in the tree of color field painting. He begins with liquefied paint that he has mixed and diluted before pouring it directly onto raw unprimed canvas allowing the paint to generate organic shapes and movement. This method creates puddles of color that overlap and extend into one another while soaking into the canvas. As the colors converge, overlap, and blend they absorb at different rates creating unique color families and blurry, spectral forms. Rozek considers his work a reflection of himself with each piece carrying a unique message that changes for every viewer. How Rozek’s message translates is a rumination into the viewers own perspective.

“I try to translate depth and intuition to the viewer in the hopes we can have a conversation and a connection,” he says.

In 2017, Rozek earned his bachelors degree in studio art with a minor in drawing and painting from the Myers School of Art in Akron, Ohio. Since completing his undergraduate studies, Rozek has exhibited work with collectors from Istanbul, London, and Rome among others.

Warm-up

Pouring paint and staining layers of diluted paint define the techniques of the 20th-century color field painter Morris Louis and current artist Marcel Rozak.

We will begin our warm-up and play with these ideas.

Materials:

watercolors
diluted acrylics
inks
watercolor paper or whatever you may have available
other surfaces that will take paint

You may also want to experiment with folding your surfaces, as Rozak does in some of his work. Think layers of stains as you view the paintings of both artists.

Project:

As you continue to explore these techniques, choose a direction for your final piece.

Paint pens and torn paper may be used as well, as we explore the colorful paintings of both artists.

Artist Info:

Marcel Rozek

Instagram

Website

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Morris Louis

Wikipedia

Estate of Morris Louis

The Practice of Morris Louis