Lynne Drexler: Nature Sparked

On October 23, 2022, an article by Ted Loos appeared in the New York Times with the heading, “Out of Obscurity Lynne Drexler’s Abstract Paintings Fetch Millions.” The article was published on the occasion of the opening of a joint show of the work of Drexler’s first career phase (1959–1969) at the Mnuchin Gallery on the Upper East Side and Berry Campbell in Chelsea, which represents Drexler’s estate. Not seen in public for thirty-eight years, the paintings on view have awakened viewers to the intense physical vibrancy of Drexler’s abstract works, rendered with a combination of the vehement coloristic force of Van Gogh, the sheer almost decadent, kaleidoscopic splendor of Klimt, and the controlled textures of William Morris textiles. The rediscovery of Drexler’s art has come at the right moment, providing an antidote in their lyrical joyousness (yet not free of complexity and tension) to worldwide acrimony and strife. The attention to Drexler can also be attributed to the newly awakened recognition of the important contributions of American women artists to twentieth-century abstraction. Quoted in the New York Times article, Christine Berry (Berry Campbell’s co-founder) commented: “There’s a resurgence of women artists right now.” She notes how the spotlight has shifted from the men who made it seem that Abstract Expressionism necessitated masculine bravado to the exciting inventiveness of the women of the movement, who are the gallery’s focus.

  

 

Designed by Mark Robinson

Photography by Roz Akin 

Published by Berry Campbell