‘Philip Guston- A Life Lived’ (1981), Directed by Michael Blackwood, Produced by Michael Blackwood Productions.
Philip Guston name has re-emerged in 2020 amidst controversy surrounding a handful of international museums deciding to cancel a retrospective of his work slated to begin next year. To read our coverage of it, please go here and here.
Guston died in 1980. His decades-long career kicked off initially with him being considered a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. As he moved into more figurative works in the late 1960s, his career took the interesting turn that he’s most remembered for.
The international mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth will stream the documentary Philip Guston: A Life Lived beginning December 18, in conjunction with its exhibition of the artist’s work at the gallery’s St. Moritz location. (The gallery has 15 locations worldwide.)
The exhibition, Philip Guston. Transformation, will be online as well as at the Swiss gallery location. “Within this exhibition, Hauser & Wirth will present two bodies of work from different periods, abstract (1952-64) and figurative (1968-1977), that together show the depth and complexity of his personal iconography,” states Hauser & Wirth.
A Life Lived is made up of footage of a 1971 film from Guston’s Woodstock studio, as well as from a 1980 retrospective of the artist’s work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In the film, Guston reveals his motives and philosophy about painting.
Philip Guston: A Life Lived was directed by Michael Blackwood for Michael Blackwood Productions. To view the online stream for free, December 18-20, please go here.
1 comment
It is a fabulous film!