Sean Scully’s remarkable five-decade retrospective, “The Shape of Ideas,” at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth offers visual insight into the evolution of the iconic artist’s career.
Featuring nearly 100 paintings, drawings and works on paper, this traveling exhibition, organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, debuted in Fort Worth to an audience already enchanted with Scully’s work through the “Catherine” paintings, which have been on view intermittently at the Modern since 2002. The series’ majestic scale and modulating tonal beauty offer a deep meditative experience akin to the Rothko Chapel in Houston. The retrospective brackets this mid-career series with hard-edge abstract works from the early 1970s and a gestural painting completed this year.
Works inspired by Scully’s trips to Morocco, Mexico and elsewhere draw upon personal memories and function together as a humanistic travelogue. This is echoed in Scully’s “Wall of Light” works, which hark back to the artist’s recollection of the qualities of light bouncing off stones encountered while traveling.
The show concludes with Scully’s 2021 painting Untitled (Black Square). The central black square evokes the despair, uncertainty and loss of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked about his motivations behind the show, Scully responded, “I want to give abstraction back to the people and offer accessible emotions.” It’s a gracious sentiment, and an experience that we can all certainly welcome during these challenging times.
Details
Sean Scully’s “The Shape of Ideas” exhibition is on view through Oct. 10 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth. Tickets, available online or at the admission desk on the day of your visit, are $16 for general admission; $12 for seniors 60 and older, active duty or retired military personnel and first responders; $10 for students with ID; and free for youths 17 and younger. Admission is free on Fridays and half price on Sundays. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. For more information, call 817-738-9215 or visit themodern.org.