Gorgeously quiet in color and composition, Agnes Martin’s paintings have a distinctive grace that sets them apart from those of the Abstract Expressionists of her day and the Minimalist artists she inspired. Martin attributed her grid-based works to metaphysical motivations, lending a serene complexity to her oeuvre that has defied any easy categorization. Perhaps for this reason, critical and scholarly analysis of her paintings has been scarce—until now. This important new anthology brings together the most current scholarship on Martin’s paintings by twelve multidisciplinary essayists who consider various aspects of the artist’s four-decade career.
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Organized by Dia Art Foundation, whose extensive holdings of Martin’s paintings and ambitions to support in-depth research on the works are unparalleled, the publication brings renewed focus and energy to Martin’s career and her contributions to the art historical narrative.