Regional Work #2
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Ree Morton’s series of twelve two-part seascape paintings was executed in San Diego in 1976. These deliberately romantic works are sensory impressions of seaside sunsets, and Morton zooms into ocean depths to depict fish in a naturally sublime palette. These wry updates to the storied art-historical theme of the sea are framed by Morton’s groundbreaking use of Celastic to represent billowing curtains. A plastic-composite fabric, when dampened Celastic can be shaped and formed—but quickly, and with significant resistance. Morton relished the challenge of working with a material that was not passive but required work and process, and thereby challenged dominant ways of making paintings.
Caption
Ree Morton American, 1936–1977. Regional Work #2, 1976. Oil on wood with celastic, Overall: 40 × 50 in. (101.6 × 127 cm) (a) Panel with fish: 18 1/2 × 49 3/4 in. (47 × 126.4 cm) (b) Panel with seascape: 17 × 50 in. (43.2 × 127 cm) frame (A): 23 × 54 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (58.4 × 138.4 × 14 cm) frame (B): 23 × 54 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (58.4 × 138.4 × 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Estate of Ree Morton, 88.34a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 88.34a-b_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Regional Work #2
Date
1976
Medium
Oil on wood with celastic
Classification
Dimensions
Overall: 40 × 50 in. (101.6 × 127 cm) (a) Panel with fish: 18 1/2 × 49 3/4 in. (47 × 126.4 cm) (b) Panel with seascape: 17 × 50 in. (43.2 × 127 cm) frame (A): 23 × 54 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (58.4 × 138.4 × 14 cm) frame (B): 23 × 54 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (58.4 × 138.4 × 14 cm)
Signatures
Unsigned
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Ree Morton
Accession Number
88.34a-b
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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Frequent Art Questions
Can you tell me more about these?
Ree Morton is known for work that explores the nature of painting, incorporating two and three dimensional elements rethinking the nature of space in her art. Notice how the "curtains" hold their shape despite being made of fabric. The material is called Celastic, and can be hardened with acetone. The color of the fish and sky are similar, further tying the two parts of this work together. However, one scene is a view above the water and the other is below.We are fans of this fish!
The upper and lower panels give you a view above and below the water. And if you look closely at the colors, you'll notice that the colors of the fish mirror that of the sky above!
Feels similar to the Kapoor Mirror in a way. Is that steel?Great connection! There's definitely a similar sense of inversion going on. Kapoor created this Mirror by polishing the surface of concave piece of stainless steel until there were no imperfections. He then painted it a gradient of two lacquer pigments. It is stainless steel. I think the size and warmth of the colors certainly helps with making it feel more intimate.Why are these not blue?
The color blue has a lot of meaning to a lot of different people. The water in these works is meant to be read as blue! Water and the sky have a lot to do with the meaning of blue. It also, historically, a difficult and expensive pigment to produce which gives it addition meaning across time and place.Who is this by?
It is by Ree Morton! Morton was associated with the feminist and post-minimalist art movements of the 1970s. She used unconventional materials and autobiographical elements in her sculptures and paintings.Does the artist want it to be 1 or 2 paintings?
That's a great question. She is emphasizing the relationships between different spaces -- for instance, the peaceful seascape above versus what is actually going on under the water!They are one artwork: two paintings that make one "bigger picture."Who is this by?
It is by Ree Morton! Morton was associated with the feminist and post-minimalist art movements of the 1970s. She used unconventional materials and autobiographical elements in her sculptures and paintings.
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