When he was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, Jonathan Binstock began researching Sam Gilliam, one of America鈥檚 most prominent abstract painters.
鈥淚 felt challenged by the work,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 understand it then and I can still say that I don鈥檛 quite grasp it entirely.鈥�
Even so, Binstock, now the Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director of the , is respected as an international expert on Gilliam. He has cocurated the Washington, D.C.鈥揵ased artist鈥檚 first solo museum exhibition in Europe, 鈥淭he Music of Color.鈥� Opening this month at the , which houses one of Europe鈥檚 significant public collections, the exhibition will run simultaneously with , the largest and considered the most selective modern art fair in the world.
In addition, Binstock will lead a VIP tour of the Gilliam exhibition and the opening of Art Basel for members of the University and MAG communities who are taking part in the The behind-the-scenes looks are highlights of a weeklong trip to Switzerland organized by the Gallery Council.
In 2017, Art Basel attracted 95,000 people鈥攎any of them private collectors and representatives from museums and institutions around the world鈥攐ver six days.
鈥淭here is no greater global stage for art than this,鈥� Binstock says.
鈥淭he Music of Color鈥� presents some 50 works from public and private collections in Europe and the United States. The show focuses on a period of great radicalism for Gilliam鈥攆rom 1967 to 1973鈥攊n which he poured acrylic paint directly onto unprimed canvas, then folded and crumpled the canvas before the paint dried. It also covers work reflecting the 1968 race riots, and the polarizing debate over black art and abstract painting in 1960s and 1970s America.
The show was cocurated by Josef Helfenstein, director of the Kunstmuseum Basel in Basel, a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland.
Helfenstein characterizes Binstock as 鈥渋ndispensable in many ways鈥� in advising which of Gilliam鈥檚 works should be exhibited.
鈥淛onathan was also a great sparring partner both for the artist and me,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd I think the result will be the proof of what a productive conversation this has been.鈥�
Gilliam is known for his vivid drape paintings, hung not on wooden stretcher bars but unsupported like curtains, or bunting. They are never hung the same way twice. He never stopped creating abstract work despite accusations from African-American contemporaries that he didn鈥檛 support civil rights鈥攐ther black artists were making figurative pieces meant as overtly political statements about civil rights from the 1960s to the 1980s鈥攁nd even as abstract art fell out of favor internationally between the late 1960s and the early 2000.
鈥淪am remained committed to abstract painting precisely when it seemed irrelevant, but he also demonstrated how painting was also sculpture, also architecture, and also performance art,鈥� says Binstock, who completed the first doctoral dissertation on Gilliam, curated a major retrospective of his work for the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and wrote a monographic catalog on his work. 鈥淚n this way he helped lay the groundwork for the interdisciplinary thinking and making that is so central to artistic practices today.鈥�
Binstock characterizes the fact that Gilliam鈥檚 work remains a challenge鈥攍ong after he sat partially bewildered as a doctoral student in Sharon Patton鈥檚 African-American art history class鈥攁s 鈥渁 testament to its strength and quality.鈥�
, in fact, recently characterized Gilliam, represented internationally by Los Angeles鈥揵ased David Kordansky Gallery, as a 鈥渓iving legend鈥� who is 鈥渆njoying his greatest renaissance yet.鈥�
There鈥檚 something in there for Binstock as well.
鈥淔or me, I think it means that I get to join the club of people who say, 鈥楧o what you love, do what you think is right, and it will all work out,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 very glad Sam is getting his due for what he has accomplished, and I鈥檓 very fortunate to have been able to play a role in helping him achieve the recognition he so rightly deserves.
鈥淚鈥檓 enjoying a fantastic ride.鈥�
鈥擱obin L. Flanigan
