Walter Darby Bannard

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, is hosting ”Walter Darby Bannard: 1959-1962,” a focused show exhibiting the breakthrough works of the American abstract painter. On view through January 6, 2019, the exhibition showcases some of the early and rarely seen works of the artist.

“Walter Darby Bannard: 1959-1962” focuses on a significant period of the artist career — a time when he abandoned gestural brushwork and developed a pared-down geometric vocabulary. The period on focus represented for Bannard a moment of reckoning with the lessons and legacy of Abstract Expressionism. Bannard who lived in Princeton, New Jersey, at the time, had the desire to usher in a new era in American painting.

“Bannard purged his paintings of any vestiges of self-expression and pared the canvases down to a single geometric form in a colored field. This allowed him to explore what he deemed painting’s most important aspects: the use of color and a ‘total, in-your-face presentation,’ whereby all that the painting had to offer was right there in front of the viewer, all at once,” writes ICA on Bannard’s work during the time.

Walter Darby Bannard (b. 1934, New Haven; d. 2016, Miami), was a leading figure in the development of Color Field painting. During his career spanning decades, he held over 100 solo exhibitions and was included in several hundred group shows. His works were included remarkable exhibitions like “Post-Painterly Abstraction,” LACMA, (1964), and “The Responsive Eye,” Museum of Modern Art, New York, (1965).  His work can be found in the permanent collections of major museums in New York and other institutes across the globe. The Centre George Pompidou, Paris; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, are some of the premier museums has holds his works in its collection.

The exhibition is on view through January 6, 2019, at the Institute of Contemporary Art,61 NE 41st St, Miami, FL 33137, USA.

Photo: “Walter Darby Bannard: 1959–1962” at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami Installation view
© Fredrik Nilsen Studio