Jackson Pollock (foreground) and Lee Krasner
Westport photographer and artist Stacy Bass is bringing a new series to The Westport Library: SmART, a regular program featuring in-depth conversations about art and artists, hosted in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
The first of these, to be held Thursday, March 14, will focus on the relationship between acclaimed artists and married couple Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. It will feature Bass in conversation with art historian, educator, curator, and Pollock/Krasner expert Bobbi Coller, tracing the arc of Pollock’s and Krasner’s brilliant careers, with examples of their artwork broadcast to the 18-foot videowall in the Trefz Forum.
The series was inspired by Bass’ conversation with fellow photographer Stephen Wilkes on the Library stage in November 2022.
The kickoff event starts at 7 pm. Attendance is free; registration is strongly encouraged.
“Westport has always been and continues to be an art-forward and art-centric community,” said Bass. “It’s one of the things I love most about living here. It feels like a natural fit for The Westport Library to offer its patrons access to insightful and educational programs with and about art and artists, and it’s my great pleasure to participate in bringing these conversations to life.”
Before people used the term “power couple,” Pollock and Krasner were two of the most groundbreaking artists of the Abstract Expressionist Movement. While Pollock’s distinctively energetic method of pouring paint directly onto the canvas was at first controversial, he gained a mythic notoriety and is now considered one of the most iconic artists of the 20th century.
It took much longer for Krasner’s art to be appreciated and valued. The recent drive to reassess the overlooked accomplishments of women artists has led to a realization of the strength of Krasner’s work, as well as her essential participation in the creation of mid-20th century abstraction. Her paintings and collages have now been displayed all over the world, sold for record-breaking prices at arthouse auctions, and prized in the collections of major museums.
“When Jackson Pollock first exhibited his powerful abstract compositions in the late 1940s, he shattered existing conventions of painting, causing an explosion in the art world that reverberated into contemporary public life,” Coller said. “Working parallel to him, his wife, the artist Lee Krasner, was an integral part of the experimental art movement known as Abstract Expressionism, which is credited with shifting the center of avant-garde artmaking from Paris to New York in the middle of the 20th century.
“In our informal art conversation, Stacy Bass and I will discuss the lives and careers of both Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, view examples of their work, and consider the complex relationship between two strong and influential artists.”
Coller received a BS in education from New York University and a PhD in art history from The Graduate Center of CUNY. She has taught modern and contemporary art at Long Island University and has curated more than 30 exhibitions, including The Artist’s Mother: Portraits and Homages, which was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In addition, several of her exhibitions were circulated throughout the U.S. by the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibitions Service.
In addition, Coller currently is the chair of the advisory board of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, New York, the landmarked home and studio of both artists. She curated two exhibitions for that site: The Persistence of Pollock in 2012, which marked the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth, and Pollock’s Champions in 2014, the first exhibition to focus on Pollock’s relationships with his three lifetime dealers.
A political science/photojournalism major from Barnard College, Columbia University, Bass began to focus on fine art and commercial photography in college and studied at the Maine Photographic Workshops with masters Jay Maisel, Joe Baraban, and William Albert Allard. From her first solo exhibition in 1988, her fine artwork has become part of numerous private, corporate, and hotel collections, and her images and unique perspective continue to tap into the emotion and sensibility of a wide spectrum of viewers. Select pieces of her work are currently represented by Sue Appleton-Webster at Swoon Gallery in Westport.
Bass also is a graduate of NYU School of Law, where she concentrated on copyright, art, and entertainment law. She later used her expertise to become vice president of a publicly traded motion picture and television company, Savoy Pictures Entertainment, Inc.
Bass’ signature images of architecture, interiors, and gardens have resulted in three solo exhibitions and numerous awards. Her photography has been featured extensively in books and magazines including at home (where she was lead photographer for more than 10 years), Garden Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Veranda, AD, Horticulture, Living Etc., British Homes & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal, and many more. She is the author of two best-selling and critically acclaimed monographs/books celebrating the American landscape: In the Garden (Melcher Media/Perseus Books, 2012) and Gardens at First Light (Moffly Media, 2015).
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Pictured: L to R, Stacy Bass and Bobbi Coller. Stacy Bass Photo Credit: Pamela Einarsen; Bobbi Coller Photo Credit: Pauline Shapiro.
