BRATTLEBORO — Jules Olitski: Modern Master, a new biographical movie about the late abstract painter, will be shown at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center.
The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Olitski's daughter, artist Lauren Olitski Poster, and filmmakers Andy Reichsman and Kate Purdie of Marlboro.
In this 22-minute film, Olitski discusses his artistic process and philosophy, while critics and peers - Frank Stella, Anthony Caro, Karen Wilkin, among others - provide insight and observations about his work and his place in the art world.
Charismatic, humorous, and insightful, Jules Olitski is the centerpiece of a film that demystifies his remarkably expansive and at times challenging body of work. Rarely seen footage of the artist at work in his studio complemented by talks and interviews with the artist convey a clear portrait of a man driven to make art.
Olitski was born in Russia in 1922, a few months before his father was executed by the Soviet government. His mother and grandmother soon emigrated with him to the United States, settling in Brooklyn.
He studied art at the National Academy School of Fine Arts and the Beaux-Arts Institute, and he earned an master of arts degree from New York University.
He had his first solo exhibition in 1951 at Galerie Huit in Paris, and his first New York show in 1959 at French & Company. In 1966, he was one of four artists (with Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, and Ellsworth Kelly) selected by Henry Geldzahler to represent the U.S. in the 33rd Venice Biennale. In 1969, he was the first living American artist to be given a solo exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Olitski continued to paint and exhibit until his death, at age 84, in February 2007.
The film will be shown on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. For more information, visit www.brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101.