Gottlieb/Rothko

Meeting in the late 1920s in New York City, Rothko and Gottlieb shared artistic aspirations, intellectual curiosity, and even studio space together. In the exhibition, two drawings, exhibited side by side, are each of a man seated in a chair playing a mandolin. One of these drawings by Rothko is a portrait of Gottlieb, and the other by Gottlieb is a portrait of Rothko. Through side-by-side comparisons of these early paintings and drawings, the exhibition reveals how both artists experimented with flattened pictorial space, bold contours, and symbolic imagery foreshadowing their later breakthrough into abstraction. Simultaneously, the exhibition underscores the divergences in their styles. Rothko’s figures are brooding and psychological, while Gottlieb’s compositions are lean, structured and classical in their representation.

This is clearly visible in Rothko’s striking 1936 Self-Portrait, a deeply introspective work that captures the artist’s intensity. Recently featured in the acclaimed Rothko retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, this painting exemplifies his early exploration of color as a tool to project mood. Gottlieb’s self-portraits from the same era are of a much more linear description, displaying his skill as a draftsman.

The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see how the artist’s early explorations in figuration laid the groundwork for their revolutionary artistic philosophies. By examining this pivotal period, Gottlieb/Rothko: The Realist Years provides a fresh look at the formation of two artists who transformed the language of modern art. The exhibition closes with the juxtaposition of two transitional works linking figuration and surrealism, which would become the artists’ next stop en route to the sublime.