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Cleve Gray: Threnody on view at the Neuberger Museum from September 25-December 22, 2019

A monumental work of art that is exhibited every few years

The heroic space encompassed by these walls required a heroic subject.

 – Cleve Gray 

Almost fifty years ago, American artist and abstract expressionist Cleve Gray was commissioned to create a site-specific painting for the inauguration of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, in 1974. Threnody (1972–73), the 250-foot long, 20-foot tall artwork, assembled in 28 panels, turned out to be an extraordinary project. It was a lament for the dead on both sides of the Vietnam War. At the time, college students across the country were demonstrating against the conflict in Vietnam, a war they felt to be unjust and inhumane. Gray, an active anti-war advocate himself, saw this as an opportunity to support the students and express his hope for humanity’s spiritual and emotional healing. The Museum’s location on a college campus compounded the significance.

Beginning September 25, Gray’s monumental artwork will once again be on view at the Neuberger Museum in its huge Theater Gallery. Threnody, which features 28 contiguous panels containing with vertical forms engaged in a “dance of death and life” will effectively convert the gallery into a cathedral.

Threnody considers opposites—male and female, love and hate, conflict and peace,” notes Assistant Curator Avis Larson. “It continues to have an impact on viewers almost half a century after it was first exhibited. In many ways we are facing similar issues relating to war and the loss of innocent lives, in addition to the many other situations we have to confront here in the United States, such as gun violence.”

A “threnody” is a classical song of mourning, a lamentation. In 1975, when explaining the piece, Gray wrote: “I felt that tragedy had been manifested more intensely during those years and in the preceding decade than at any other time in American history. Iniquity, futile death and destruction surrounded us with little relief. This sense of tragedy in the sixties and seventies insisted itself upon me as the subject matter for the walls I had been asked to paint in the Neuberger Museum, for I felt that the heroic space encompassed by these walls required a heroic subject.” 

Threnody marked a turning point in the artist’s investigation of a radically simplified, vertical image and the large-scale calligraphic gestures that became the hallmark of his mature paintings. To prepare, Gray created several-hundred color studies and over 100 figure studies over a period of about 18 months. About his approach to large-scale logistics, Gray wrote that he “had a 20’ x 20’ easel constructed…it had a hoist so that it could be raised to the vertical position.” In addition, he used very large brushes, sometimes janitors’ push brooms, and plastic swimming pools in which to mix his paints.

Rhythmically spaced motifs in the 28 panels suggest a diversity of imagery, and most vividly, perhaps, a procession of solemn dancers. “The depiction of tragedy often requires an element of hope, so I chose a positive red for the central figure of the ‘apse’ wall. Unexpectedly but inevitably this figure became the climactic point of the room. In the midst of death it had to offer the hope of life, just as blood is both the palpitating fluid of life and the fleeting evidence of death.”

Larson believes that the reinstallation of Threnody “impresses upon us the need for humanity’s spiritual and emotional healing as we now face the devastation of current wars and the loss of life on both sides. Threnody offers our students and the general public a place conducive to contemplation and meditation.”

Threnody is part of the Neuberger Museum’s permanent collection, and has been exhibited from time to time, most recently in 2013, 2007, and before then, shortly after 9/11.

Generous support for Cleve Gray: Threnody is provided by the Honorary Council of the Neuberger Museum of Art and ArtsWestchester. with support from the Westchester County Government.

 



The following events are presented in conjunction with the exhibition:

 

Wednesday, October 30, 4:30 – 7:00pm
Fall Exhibition Opening Reception

A special evening to share with friends from the community and Purchase College campus. Browse the galleries filled with incredible works from the fall 2019 exhibitions and engage in conversation with artists, curators, and fellow art lovers. There also are light refreshments and live music.

Free with museum admission. No registration required.

 

Friday, October 4, 12:30-2:00pm
Art Talk: Art Sandwiched-In

Bring your own lunch and, in the first 30 minutes, socialize with other art lovers. Then, join a curator for an hour-long tour of Cleve Gray: Threnody.

Free with museum admission.  Reservations requested.

 

Wednesdays, Oct 23, Nov 13, Dec 11, 12:30pm—1:30pm
Wellness Wednesday: Sound Bath
Immerse yourself in the healing and restorative experience of Crystal Singing bowls. Led by yoga and meditation instructor Janelle Berger in the
Threnody gallery.

Free with museum admission. Registration requested.

Wednesdays, Oct 23, Nov 13, Dec 11, 12:30pm—1:30pm
Wellness Wednesday: Yoga
Practice this ancient art for the body, mind, and spirit surrounded by the monumental Threnody installation. All experience levels welcome.
Led by yoga instructor Jessica Pozzuoli, Neuberger Museum Business Manager and Purchase College Adjunct Faculty.

Free with museum admission. Registration requested.

Sunday, November 24 | 1:30-3pm
King Henry the Fourth, Part One

Students from Purchase College’s Conservatory of Theatre Arts will be performing the final run of their senior play within the Cleve Gray: Threnody exhibition.

Free with museum admission. No registration required.

 



The Neuberger Museum of Art opened on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, in 1974 with a core collection donated by Roy R. Neuberger, one of the greatest private collectors, philanthropists, and arts advocates of the twentieth century. Today, critically acclaimed exhibitions, tours, lectures, and interactive programs for patrons of all ages make the Neuberger a center of teaching and learning for all stages of life.