David DiMichele reviews Women of Abstract Expressionism recently on view at the Palm Springs Museum of Art. The show features works by Mary Abbott, Jay DeFeo, Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gechtoff, Judith Godwin, Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Deborah Remington, and Ethel Schwabacher.
DiMichele writes: "The big surprise in the show is the work of several outstanding painters who are mostly unknown today, such as Mary Abbott, Perle Fine, and Deborah Remington. Abbott’s All Green (1954) projects an intoxicating lyricism akin to Miles Davis’ All Blues from his classic modal jazz recording, Kind of Blue, from the same time period. Fine’s distinctive use of undulating branch-like line work distinguishes her from the usual gestural approach seen throughout most of the show. Remington’s Phunky or Dacia (1956) is an enigmatic work sitting right on the edge between abstraction and figuration; it almost anticipates late Philip Guston."
