SixtyyearsoftopographicalabstractionsfromthelatevirtuosoofmaterialexperimentationThiscomprehensivemonographsurveystheworkofBlackAmericanartistJackWhitten,knownforhisswirling,mosaic-likeabstractionsandhisinnovativematerialexperimentations,especiallywithacrylicpaint.Resemblingtopographicalmaps,Whitten’sworksrelyheavilyontheuseofgeometryandrhythmic,gesturalstructurestoinduceanartisticandspiritualprocessthatheidentifiesas“mappingthesoul.“Focusingonpivotaldevelopmentsoverhissix-decadecareer,thepublicationisgenerouslyillustratedwithWhitten’svastbodyofwork.Throughoutthevolume,arthistorianRichardShiffprovidescriticalinterpretationsofWhitten’spainting,sculptureandartisticphilosophy.JackWhitten(1939-2018)wasborninBessemer,Alabama,andwasraisedintheJimCrowSouth.HestudiedartatSouthernUniversityinBatonRouge,Louisiana,wherehewasheavilyinvolvedincivilrightsdemonstrations.AftermovingtoNewYorkin1960,hestudiedartatCooperUnionandquicklyfellinlovewith,andwasdeeplyinfluencedby,theAbstractExpressionistpainters.WhittenhadasoloexhibitionattheWhitneyin1974anda10-yearretrospectiveattheStudioMuseuminHarlemin1983.In2014,aretrospectiveexhibitionwasorganizedbytheMuseumofContemporaryArtinSanDiego,travelingtotheWexnerCenterfortheArtsin2015andtheWalkerArtCenterinMinneapolisin2015and2016.WhittenlivedinQueens,NewYork,wherehediedin2018.
