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Donald B. Marron Collection at Acquavella Galleries, Gagosian, and Pace Gallery

Ed Ruscha: Yellow Red Scream

Ed Ruscha: “Yellow Red Scream”, 1964 © Ed Ruscha

Donald B. Marron Collection at Acquavella Galleries, Gagosian, and Pace Gallery Acquavella Galleries, Gagosian, and Pace Gallery announce a joint exhibition of works on paper from the esteemed Donald B. Marron Collection, belonging to one of the twentieth and twenty-first century’s most passionate and erudite collectors. Pace Gallery, August 12–20, 2020.]]>

Source: Gagosian Gallery

The exhibition will feature almost forty works on paper including sketches and studies as well as fully realized paint and pastel pieces. Works on view range from early modern masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Raoul Dufy, and Fernand Léger; to nature studies by Ellsworth Kelly and an exemplary acrylic from Paul Thek’s final series; to contemporary pieces by Mamma Andersson, Leonardo Drew, Damien Hirst, Jasper Johns, and Brice Marden, among others. A focused presentation on Ed Ruscha’s typographic and image-based drawings and a selection of his inventive artist’s books will round out the exhibition. Many of these works are being exhibited publicly for the first time since their acquisition.

Works on paper highlights from the Donald B. Marron Collection include:

Two drawings by Brice Marden, including “Butterfly Wings” (2005), composed of loops of black ink that swirl across but never escape the perimeter of the sheet. As Marden said in 1979 of his drawings: “think of them as spaces.” In “Butterfly Wings”, Marden intentionally alters the space of the drawing while permitting vestiges of its making to remain visible to the viewer.

Two late works by Jasper Johns, including “Two Paintings” (2006), which combines now-famous motifs from early in his career—flags, maps, numerals, and cross-hatching—with new ones, including a Harlequin’s costume, a piece of string, and flagstones.

Ellsworth Kelly’s “Burdock” (1969) and “Wild Grape” (1960) from his plant drawings series, which played a central role in his art. These plant drawings not only informed the artist’s early paintings but are also the basis for his later work. As Kelly wrote of the series in 1969: “They are exact observations of the form of the leaf or flower or fruit seen. Nothing is changed or added: no shading, no surface marking.”

Damien Hirst’s drawing “Leviathan” (2006), wherein the artist reveals his initial plans for a monumental sculpture of the same title, encasing the second largest shark in the world in formaldehyde—its mouth wide as if about to attack.

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Donald B. Marron Collection at Acquavella Galleries, Gagosian, and Pace Gallery