Curatorial Projects

Lennart Anderson (U.S.,1928-2015) was an artist renowned for his deceptively complex paintings that transform common delicacies, mundane objects and a sitter’s calm interiority into phenomenological meditations on light, form and time. His paintings reveal a world of things we may overlook; however, with the tender innocence and humor of a haiku poet, he represents to us mysteries worthy of careful consideration. As he worked from observation during the height of non-objective painting, he often described his practice as “humble pie,” but he was unapologetic about his exhaustive search for an elusive quality of light and the nobility of his subject.

Described by the New York Times as one of the “most prominent and admired painters to translate figurative art into a modern idiom,” Anderson was also well-known for a teaching career that deeply influenced future generations of painters, including guest curator and SUU lecturer of art, Randall Cabe.

In collaboration with the Lennart Anderson estate and Leigh Morse Fine Arts, Southern Utah Museum of Art will host the largest iteration of this first major survey featuring 56 works from both private and public collections, such as Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, Brooklyn Museum, Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

This exhibition is possible through the generous support of Iron County, Center for Figurative Painting, American Macular Degeneration Foundation, Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, and Richard Spurzem.

Opening lecture by Randall Cabe available on YouTube.