Tan Transpose
Date2020
MediumAcrylic and polymers with oil on panel
DimensionsPanel: 90 × 44 inches (228.6 × 111.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Artist and Berry Campbell Gallery.
Object number2021.11
Copyright© Jill Nathanson.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextAs a student studying at Bennington College in Vermont, Jill Nathanson was introduced to Color Field Abstraction—a movement born in the 1950s characterized by broad expanses of color, large canvases, and a rejection of the so-called impulsive and gestural application of paint favored by the Abstract Expressionists. Like her predecessors Helen Frankenthaler and Sam Gilliam, Nathanson’s work encourages a contemplative and immersive experience of color. She stated: “I want the viewer to get into feeling the whole of the painting: how chords of color-as-light join together to orchestrate an experience. I pour paint, achieving color transparencies and use a fluid drawing approach to arrive at a painting composed of energies in dynamic relation with the rectangle.”
Nathanson’s process typically starts with digitally produced sheets of translucent color, which she superimposes, cuts, and combines until achieving the desired hues and arrangements. Using these studies, she embarks on a multiday process of mixing, pouring, and layering paint, as well as lifting and methodically titling the panel to regulate its spread. This laborious technique allows the artist to control saturation, transparency, and opacity—elements that play a key role in building her works’ various fields of color and in generating harmonious compositions.
