Harvey Quaytman

Book excerpt: Harvey Quaytman’s paintings are distinct for their inventive, whimsical exploration of shape, meticulous attention to surface texture, and experimental application of color. While his works display a rigorous commitment to formalism, they are simultaneously invested with rich undertones of sensuality, decorativeness, and humor—expressed, too, in his playful poetic titles, such as A Street Called Straight and Kufikind. Demonstrating the arc of Quaytman’s oeuvre, from his radically curvilinear canvases of the late 1960s and 1970s, to his exploration of serialized geometric abstraction in the 1980s, and finally to his serene cruciform canvases of the 1990s, this retrospective exhibition and accompanying illustrated catalogue is a timely reconsideration of Quaytman’s influential work, placing him and his work more prominently in the trajectory of American modern art. With contributions by Suzanne Hudson and John Yau, as well reflections by R. H. Quaytman, an artist and the daughter of Harvey Quaytman, on her father’s work and life. Published in association with the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Exhibition dates: October 17, 2018–January 27, 2019, Berkeley Museum of Art Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).