Lee Krasner: The Edge of Color

Two paintings from Krasners very first solo exhibition, reunited here after 70 years, provide a window into the artists rarely examined early geometric abstractions The early works of Abstract Expressionist pioneer Lee Krasner (190884), in her first solo exhibition in 1951, emphasized geometric relations. But during this same period, Krasner would often destroy or paint over her canvases to create new works. In a special and ambitious exhibition, Kasmin reunites the only two surviving paintings from her first solo show, displayed together for the first time in over 70 years. Replete with 18 color plates, related archival material and newly commissioned texts, The Edge of Color foregrounds a rarely examined chapter of Krasners five-decade career. Beyond the scope of an exhibition catalog, the book takes its reader behind Krasners paintings to provide never-before-published visual evidence regarding these early paintings. It positions these works, realized in the upstairs bedroom at the artists home in Springs, NY, in relation to Krasners contemporaries including Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian.