James Brooks: Black and White + Color features twelve canvases that span Brooks’ entire mature career from the mid-1950s through the early 80s. The works in the catalogue explore the artist’s signature compositions composed of loosely brushed shapes and forms that become increasingly simplified and lyrical with time. By limiting this selection to paintings that employ black and white – and grays – in tandem with a third color, one is able to gauge the artist’s natural graphic sensibility. Additionally, it is clear that drawing was an intuitive and integral part of his vocabulary. While Brooks was known for his gift as a colorist, this catalogue highlights his ability to both enact and represent the process of painting even when limited to the interplay of basic black, white and a single hue.
Softcover, 23 pages
ISBN: 0-9801259-0-1
$30.00