The Bottom Line
It's an exhibition to be savored slowly, from across each room and in front of each painting. It makes a truism from the cliche "the more you look the more you see". Now if only you could buy a ticket for a private viewing slot so you could enjoy the paintings quietly...
Pros
- A rare chance to see Rothko's series paintings together as groups.
- Getting close to the paintings enables you to enjoy the scale and see detail.
- Large room for Seagram paintings enables you to see them from a distance.
Cons
- Plan an visit early in the day to avoid the crowds as much as possible.
Description
- Exhibition at the Tate Modern art gallery in London from 26 September 2008 to 1 February 2009. Exhibition website
- Tickets £12.50 (£11.50 Senior Citizen, £10.50 concessions and children). Exhibition tours on Fridays at 19h15.
- Showcases Rothko's Seagram, Black-Form, Brown and Grey works on paper, and Black on Grey series paintings.
- Nine exhibition rooms, including one very large one (Room 3) for the Seagram paintings.
- Room 1 includes sketches done with pencil crayon, pastel, watercolor and/or gouache on paper.
- Room 1 also has a model built by Rothko of how he wanted the Seagram paintings he gave to the Tate to be displayed.
Guide Review - Exhibition Review: Rothko at Tate Modern
Rothko is an artist whose paintings have grown on me, to the extent I never visit the Tate Modern art gallery in London without making time for some quiet contemplation in the Rothko Room. Inevitably a retrospective is going to be far more crowded, removing the meditative quality of viewing his paintings, but it wasn't as crowded as I'd feared as most paintings could be seen without nudging elbows or peering over shoulders. (Though the queue at the ticket office made me think it'd worth being there early with a ticket bought in advance.)
The first two rooms are small, increasing the impact of the large size of Room 3 where the Seagram paintings are hung. The subdued lighting, the colors of the walls, and the vastness of the paintings gave me a sense of what atmosphere the paintings could've given to the Four Seasons restaurant if they'd made it there. Rothko may be right in deciding people would be more concerned about what they were eating than the art surrounding them, but Room 3 left me with the feeling that the paintings might've won some diners over to coming for the art not the food.
The Black-Form paintings in Room 6 appear to be uniform black at first. But slowly your eyes pick out subtle changes, and as you move from left to right these become clearer (though never obvious) with the slight changes in light. A photo can't show you. It's color-field painting at its extreme; a challenge of what can be done matt and semi-gloss, texture and slight changes in tone. I'd go for this room alone.
If you're not a Rothko fan I don't think the entry fee would be money well spent. It's unlikely to change your mind because you'll think it's more of the same. Rather wait until the Rothko Room is back again (free entry) and with a bit of luck you'll have it to yourself. Some solitary contemplation in the darkened space may move you, if not convert.
