Week #7, Shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery III

Photograph of No. 1, 1962, Oil on canvas, stretched over wooden framework), 26” x 13” x 46”.

Another masterpiece this week that graced the space at the Betty Parsons Gallery (BPG). This time the work is one from Dusti’s 1962 show at the gallery. This work is not a conventional painting, since it is from an experimental series Dusti produced in the early 1960s. 

This ‘experimental” series I am referring to came about in part by a frustration Dusti experienced in viewing artwork in typical museum settings. After a trip to the Uffizi she observed that it was often difficult to view the artwork just right without getting any glare or reflection from the lights illuminating the work. This conundrum inspired her to tackle this pervasive phenomenon. And so, she devised several iterations of paintings that somehow occupied space differently than merely hanging flat against a vertical surface. 

Her first thought was that paintings hung on walls should be tilted at a slight angle away from the wall, thus facing downward to the viewer to avoid any glare. But soon her creative imagination made the next leap, and she started creating entire 3-dimensional paintings. These were an interesting cross between painting and sculpture. which could be viewed from multiple angles and were typically not hung from the wall but either suspended from the ceiling or set on the floor with poles mounted on bases.

She would construct each of these “space paintings’ herself out of wooden frames contorted into different shapes and extending into space, covered by canvas, which she would then paint. In her 1962 show she had seven of these works listed, titled No. 1 through No. 7.  We’ve been able to identify No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. The one featured here in these 1962 black & white photos from the BPG is No. 1.

NOTE: Unfortunately, another thing to note about this unique piece is that we currently do not know its location, nor its condition. So, if by any chance you know anything about this piece, or any other work of Dusti’s for that matter, we would love to hear from you!