If you ever stand before this painting, do not look for hope. Look for honesty. Rivers offers no antidote to death, only a magnificent, sprawling, messy acknowledgment of the process. In 1981, Larry Rivers was growing. He was growing older, wiser, and more ruthless in his vision. And he left that growth on the canvas for us to witness—a beautiful, rotting garden of American art.
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To understand Growing , one must understand the restless energy of its creator. Born Yitzroch Loiza Grossberg in the Bronx in 1923, Rivers did not take a traditional path to the fine arts. He began his professional life as a jazz saxophonist, a background that permanently infected his visual art with a sense of improvisation, rhythm, and syncopation. Breaking the AbEx Mold growing 1981 larry rivers
The mixed media and airbrush techniques of the 1980s require careful conservation. Canvases with pristine provenance and minimal environmental degradation command premium prices.
The history of video art and portraiture in the late 20th century. Artist/Creepy Dad - Glasstire If you ever stand before this painting, do not look for hope
(1981) is a controversial and largely suppressed video work by the American artist Larry Rivers
The year 1981 marked a cultural shift. The excesses of the 70s were giving way to the neoliberal conservatism of the Reagan/Thatcher era. In the art world, Neo-Expressionism (Basquiat, Schnabel) was beginning to roar. Rivers, always a step ahead, had already been doing a grittier, more emotionally raw form of figuration for decades. Growing was his response to the idea of "maturity" in a culture obsessed with youth. In 1981, Larry Rivers was growing
: Typical of his later style, the figures are depicted with blurred lines and a sense of incompleteness, a technique used to evoke a feeling of memory rather than a static portrait.
If you are an artist studying this work, ask yourself: What does "growth" look like when it hurts?
Rivers' early work was characterized by his Abstract Expressionist style, which emphasized gestural brushstrokes and vibrant colors. He gained recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, exhibiting alongside other prominent artists of the time, including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
The work has been the subject of significant ethical debate regarding the boundaries between art and the privacy of its subjects. Although created decades ago, it remained largely unseen for many years following concerns raised by the girls' mother. Archive and Privacy Rights