Joseph Glasco
Untitled

Untitled

© The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Untitled
Untitled
ArtistAmerican, 1925–1996
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Untitled
Date1995
PlaceGalveston, Texas, United States
MediumAcrylic on canvas
Dimensions81 3/16 × 61 3/16 in. (206.2 × 155.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number96.856
Non exposé

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Object Type
Description

This painting by Joseph Glasco demonstrates his skill with the vocabulary of post-World War II art, from the vigorous brushwork of the Abstract Expressionists to the push-pull color dynamics of Hans Hofmann.


After serving in the Army during World War II, Glasco studied art in Texas, California, England, and Mexico before arriving in New York City during the heyday of Abstract Expressionism. Although he continued to exhibit regularly in New York, he moved away in the mid-1950s, settling in Galveston in 1972 to pursue his own brand of painting: a synthesis of European and American forms of abstraction and Surrealism.


Created just a year before his death, this painting glows with a confident balance of complexity and resolution. The underlying grid structure that unites the composition is vividly animated by the gestural strokes that are laid down as middle and foregrounds; floating red rectangles further anchor the visual play across the surface. Filled with assurance and gusto, the work presents a brilliant palette animated by a syncopated compositional structure: it is the work of an artist at the peak of his career.


 


 


ProvenanceThe artist; [Moody Gallery, Houston]; purchased by MFAH, 1996.
Exhibition History"Joseph Glasco: A Celebration," Galveston Arts Center, October 14–November 19, 1995.

"Joe Glasco," Moody Gallery, Houston, January 9–18, 1996.

“Crossing State Lines: Texas Art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 23, 2000–March 18, 2001.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription: A stamp in black ink, verso on canvas frame: "DnA Stretchers 914 657 2100 OLIVEBRIDGE, N.Y.". A label, verso on canvas frame: "Moody Gallery 2815 Colquitt Houston, TEXAS 77098 Joe Glasco Untitled 1995 acrylic on canvas 81h x 61w inches JG19".
The painting is signed and dated in black paint, verso of canvas: "J. Glasco 1995" and also an arrow and "Top".

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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