On View
Not on viewObject number1975/6.43
Red #1
Artist
Donald Willett
(American, 1928 - 1985)
Date1968
Mediumacrylic on board
Dimensionsboard: 47 15/16 × 47 15/16 in. (121.8 × 121.8 cm)
frame: 49 × 49 × 1 1/2 in. (124.5 × 124.5 × 3.8 cm)
frame: 49 × 49 × 1 1/2 in. (124.5 × 124.5 × 3.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Philip and Allene Dietrich
Exhibition HistoryRound and Round, Ethel Denton Groos Gallery, November 4, 2017 - March 4, 2018Label TextDonald Willett was a dedicated abstractionist who, like many of his fellow artists, investigated the properties of paint and experimented with various painting styles. A 1957 graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a faculty member, and painting department chair from 1964 to 1968, Willett was presumably well aware of the various modes of contemporary painting in the 1950s and 1960s. Certainly, Red #1, 1968, crosses the boundaries of multiple mid-century explorations—geometric abstraction, hard-edge painting, op art, pop art, and postpainterly abstraction—in a skillful composition that lures viewers through layers of warm colors into the painting’s cool blue center. The geometry of concentric circles is daunting technical territory for many painters. Willett’s handling of the challenge is exemplary. He further illustrated his skill by creating light and shadows atop colors that simultaneously defy logic to convey a strong energy and tension between the outer red circle and the vibrant red square background. Willett’s composition recalls the innovative “Target” paintings by Jasper Johns and Kenneth Noland from the mid-1950s into the 1960s. Both Johns and Noland challenged traditional notions of painting by conflating abstraction and representational imagery in minimalist compositions that visually pushed or extended one’s perception of the picture plane. Like his counterparts, Willett investigates the spatial relationship between layers of circles and the overall expanse of the canvas. Unlike Johns and Noland, Willett embellishes his surface with light and shadows, unusual colors, dimensionality, and realism to reference the “target or bulls-eye” as both an object, and perhaps, a vessel of meaning. Little is known about Willett’s personal biography. His work is found in only a few museum collections. Thus, the KIA is fortunate to have Red # 1, 1968. The work employs a skillful composition of circles, vibrant coloring, and a seemingly ordinary subject, thereby challenging viewers’ visual perceptions. [Collection Highlight]
