May 19, 2026 – January 3, 2027
The artist Pat Steir (American, 1938–2026) merged the formal breakthroughs of postwar abstraction — utilizing drips, pours, and expressive paint handling — in a uniquely meditative style. She arrived at her most well-known process in the 1980s when she initiated the Waterfall series, flinging thinned paint onto vertical canvas and allowing it to drip freely. This practice navigated the painterly tension between controlled movements and chance. Speaking of her methods, she once explained, “The paint itself makes the picture…Gravity makes the image.”
This presentation of Steir’s work is drawn from the CMA Collection and shown on the occasion of her recent passing. The paintings on view reflect Steir’s innovative techniques; conceptually, they register spiritual underpinnings present in nature. In pared down compositions emphasizing color and evoking the fluidity of water, the artist strikes a lyrical balance between emptiness and form.