Spray:Jules Olitski in the 1960s

In the 1960s, American artist Jules Olitski exhibited his abstract spray paintings and sculptures to critical acclaim.

Olitski created his sumptuously coloured canvases using an innovative technique involving industrial spray guns to apply mists of acrylic paint to canvas, creating the effect of ethereal fields of colour. Inspired by Olitski’s masterpiece Shoot (1965) from the Currier Museum of Art’s collection, this beautiful book features paintings, a sculpture, works on paper, and rare archival materials from the Jules Olitski Foundation. Olitski’s historic sprays are complemented by a selection of contemporary paintings by Heather Hutchison, Joseph Marioni, Jane Swavely, and John Zurier, who also explore colour, light, and space in paintings that foreground perception and sensation. | Bruce McColl is Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Currier Museum of Art. Alex Grimley is an art historian and researcher at the Jules Olitski Foundation.