Playing on the variable definitions of “brief,” this exhibition of striking but little-seen works from the Davis permanent collections is both short-lived and instructive. Installed in the soaring light-filled galleries that crown Rafael Moneo’s architecturally stunning Davis Museum building, it features large-scale paintings by major figures associated with the “Color Field” movement —Jules Olitski, Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, Friedel Dzubas, Jack Bush, and Larry Poons.

This presentation also explores tensions between the aesthetic pleasures and curatorial initiatives that align in display, on one hand, and the conservation concerns and stewardship priorities regarding preservation, on the other. And so, the bold and bright shapes of these large-scale paintings will command the gallery space for just one month, a duration determined by standards of safe exposure to high levels of natural light.

Curated by Lisa Fischman, Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director of the Davis, April Brief is supported generously supported by the Davis Museum Program Endowed Fund.