Artwork Page for Phenomena When I Looked Away

Details / Information for Phenomena When I Looked Away

Phenomena When I Looked Away

1960

Paul Jenkins

(American, 1923–2012)
Culture
America
Medium
oil and enamel on canvas
Measurements
Unframed: 197.8 x 157.8 cm (77 7/8 x 62 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Suzanne Jenkins 2015.160
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Initially interested in theater, the young Jenkins obtained a fellowship at the Cleveland Play House.

Description

Intermingled pools of vibrant color offset against dusky fields demonstrate Jenkins’s considerable command in manipulating the fluidities of oil and enamel paint in Phenomena When I Looked Away. Its title references the artist’s interest in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s studies in perception, in particular the observation that afterimages persist on the retina when one turns quickly from bright light toward darkness. In fact, Jenkins’s original title for the work was Phenomena When G Looked Away, with “G” alluding to Goethe.
A vertically oriented oil and enamel painting features a central cluster of vibrant colors erupting amidst muted tones. Fluid plumes of bright yellow, orange, and red bleed into deep blue swaths with feathered edges. To our right, dark brown and black forms display smooth, curved transitions. Muted grays and tans drift across the background like smoke, creating an organic, marble-like texture that suggests fluid motion and depth.

Phenomena When I Looked Away

1960

Paul Jenkins

(American, 1923–2012)
America

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