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Jack Tworkov (1900–1982), Untitled (Still Life), circa 1946, oil on canvas, 26 by 257/16  inches.

FOR 4-6

‘PATHWAYS AND PARALLELS’ AT HOLLIS TAGGART APRIL 12 w/1 cut

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NEW YORK CITY — Hollis Taggart Galleries presents “Pathways and Parallels: Roads to Abstract Expressionism,” an examination of the aesthetic approaches that defined this central movement in American art, on view April 12–May 12. Created primarily from the late 1930s to the early 1950s, the more than 40 paintings and drawings in this exhibition represent the major stylistic threads of this critical period of Abstract Expressionism.

Abstract Expressionism first brought American art to international recognition, shifted the center of the Western art world from Europe to the United States, and became the dominant art historical force that maintained the artistic primacy of the United States from about 1945 onward.

In the early years of Abstract Expressionism’s rise, some American critics sought to portray the style as virtually sui generic, an instance of artistic development unto and out of itself, so revolutionary as to represent an aesthetic schism with all previous movements.

“Pathways and Parallels” reconsiders these relationships, revealing the dense nexus of sources and themes that contributed to the formation of Abstract Expressionism. The works featured in this exhibition underscore the different methods of picture-making that comprised Abstract Expressionist era; all have varying combinations of stylistic, technical, chronological and theoretical links to Abstract Expressionism, yet many differ profoundly in artistic approach and intent.

Several key themes will be used to illuminate the diverse approaches of these artists — both household names and locally established artists. These themes include reenvisioned landscapes, Surrealist meditations, Cubist interpretations of space and form, and “the field” as a new metaphor for pictorial action.

The influence of Surrealism on artists working in an Abstract Expressionist manner is evident in two important paintings featured in the exhibition: Mark Rothko’s evocative watercolor “Implements of Magic,” circa 1945, on loan from the Montclair Art Museum, and the biomorphic “Dusk,” 1954, by William Baziotes, from the New Britain Museum of American Art. As will be explored, both suggest interior states and explore the idea of unfettered expression that were critical parts of Abstract Expressionism.

A different approach to symbolism is apparent in Richard Pousette-Dart’s “Palimpsest,” 1944, a complex layering of forms and shapes — inspired by African and Oceanic art — with mystical meanings embedded in a richly layered and heavily impastoed grid framework.

The gallery is at 958 Madison Avenue. For information, www.HollisTaggart.com or 212-628-4000.