AbEx New York

Robert Motherwell, Pancho Villa, Dead and Alive

In many ways, the MoMA's Abstract Expressionist New York is exactly what you'd expect.  "The Big Picture" (on view through April 25) features dozens of monumental Pollocks, Rothkos, and de Koonings, with a handful of sculptures and works by women (one apiece by Louise Nevelson, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler, and two by Lee Krasner, more famous 'cause she was Jackson Pollock's wife) thrown in to remind you that the movement wasn't just a macho painterly pissing contest.  And a spectacular show it is, despite the blatant idolatry of certain artists' work at the expense of others, a fault that probably lies less with current curators and more with past museum directors.   

But that's just the fourth floor.

The two related exhibits on the second and third floors ("Rock Paper Scissors" and "Ideas Not Theories", respectively, on view through February 28) are intimate, thoughtfully curated explorations, showcasing works by artists who do not receive the big-ticket treatment as frequently, if ever.  "Rock Paper Scissors" in particular is a delight.  Located in the Prints and Illustrated Books gallery, the show is cohesive and well-suited to the space, which is ideal for close observation of the pieces.

The pairing of small and mid-size sculpture with drawings and prints ties the exhibit together beautifully, allowing viewers the pleasure of observing how artists like Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Dorothy Dehner and Seymour Lipton thought in both two and three dimensions.  Some of the scupltures, especially David Hare's Figure Waiting in Cold, are reminiscent of etchings, their delicate metal ribbing inscribing the space around them with short, linear strokes, while many of the works on paper, such as David Smith's drawing Untitled 5/28/55, or Stanley William Hayter's remarkable print Amazon, possess a distinctly sculptural quality.  This show deserves points for moving beyond the often-aggressive facade of the abstract expressionist movement and producing an experience that is nothing short of a revelation.