A survey of R.B. Kitaj’s works at Marlborough Fine Art will trace the triumph and tragedy of the late artist’s life from the 1950s to his death in 2007. Referred to as one of the most significant painters of the post-ware period, Kitaj rejected abstraction in favor of the development of a new British figurative art.Through some 40 works, one can observe all elements of Kitaj’s practice including painting and draughtsmanship to collage and pastels. Kitaj gained acclaim for his veiled used of “iconography.” His paintings stem from allusions to political history, European literature, and popular culture. He was also deeply influenced by Franz Kafka and Cézanne, along with explorations of his own Jewish identity.When art critics almost universally panned his 1994 retrospective at the Tate Gallery, the trajectory of Kitaj’s oeuvre and personal life were forever affected. His wife, Sandra Fisher, who helped closely prepare the exhibition, died of a brain aneurysm shortly after the exhibition, which Kitaj attributed to the merciless criticism. He later left England for his native California and began a new chapter in his career with works depicting or inspired by his late wife and bold self-portraits, which are also on display.When Kitaj took his own life in 2007, the art world lost a deeply influential figure, one that close friend David Hockney said “Only Picasso comes near the same excitement for me.”The survey will provide a glimpse at the meaningful legacy of Kitaj and the evolution of his work throughout his lifetime.“R.B. Kitaj: Survey Exhibition” will be on view from June 10-July 11 at Marlborough Fine Art.
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