The University Art Museum at Cal State Long Beach will be opening its tribute exhibition “Perpetual Motion” on Thursday, commemorating the work of Abstract Expressionist Michael Goldberg.
Spanning six decades of his career, the exhibition will display more than 30 large-scale paintings and works on paper, which were loaned to the UAM from various private and public collections across the United States. It will also include four of his related works from the UAM’s permanent Gordon F. Hampton Collection.
Goldberg, who died in 2007, was known for his spontaneously expressive and nonrepresentational paintings that focused on tapping into the unconscious. His style characterized the post-World War II movement known as Abstract Expressionism.
“[Goldberg] spoke frequently about his interest in jazz and the idea of riffing off of that, which played a very important role in how his works played out,” assistant curator Elizabeth Anne Hanson said. “But he allowed room for improvisation because that freedom needs to be there; otherwise you become something else.”
Abstract Expression is credited with being the first artistic movement to shift the art world’s focus from Paris to New York. Artist such as, Goldberg focused on imaginary framework in an effort to capture the qualities of paint and the act of painting itself, rather than representing actual objects.
“[Goldberg] brought together the ideas of figuration and landscape as opposed to just surface, texture and color,” UAM Director Chris Scoates said.
Hanson said she hopes that the exhibit will raise awareness to painting and facilitate an understanding between students and the UAM.
“Our painting program at the College of the Arts is significant and we want to open up that dialogue with what we have here to discuss how painting is still a valid art form,” Hanson said.
Scoates said that although the ideas of representation and abstraction may seem archaic, the context in which the exhibition is placed in relation to other CSULB programs is fresh.
“I think [the exhibition] gives everyone an opportunity to re-think what [Goldberg’s] work might mean at a time when so much of the world has gone digital,” Scoates said.
The “Perpetual Motion” exhibition will be showing at the University Art Museum from Sept. 9 to Dec. 12. Admission for faculty, staff and students is free.
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