Lee Krasner – the pioneer of Abstract Expressionism will now go on show again in Europe for the first time in over 50 years in a major retrospective. The exhibition in the SCHIRN tells the story of one of the most single-minded artists of the 20th century. The US artist’s entire oeuvre will be on display, including self-portraits, nudes in charcoal, the strictly geometrical “Little Images” and the trailblazing paintings from her Prophecy series, as well as experimental major pieces from her Umber and Primary series and late collages. Lee Krasner was a member of the American Abstract Artists and cultivated friendships with Ray Eames, Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. Krasner’s work was long overshadowed by that of her husband, Jackson Pollock. After his untimely death in a car crash in 1956 she resolved to use Pollock’s studio and this marked the start of a new phase in her career as an artist. She was able to work on large, unstretched canvases for the first time, producing some of her most important artworks, such as “The Guardian,” “Happy Lady,” “Combat,” and “Siren.” Unlike other artists of her time who also painted in a non-figurative vein, Krasner never developed a ‘signature style,’ but instead aspired to constantly reinventing her pictorial language.

The exhibition is curated and organized by Barbican Centre, London in collaboration with SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT, Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern and the Guggenheim, Bilbao.