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plank idea in a period when artists across the stylistic spectrum were combining aspects of painting and sculpture in their work and many were experimenting with sleek, impersonal surfaces. As the artist noted, "I see the plank as existing between two worlds, the floor representing the physical world of standing objects, trees, cars, buildings, human bodies, ... and the wall representing the world of the imagination, illusionist painting space, human mental space." The sculptures consist of plywood forms coated with fiberglass and layers of polyester resin. While the polished resin surface recalls the aesthetic of 1960s southern
California surfboard and Kustom Kar cultures, the title was drawn from advertising slogans in fashion magazines. In addition to the planks, the artist also creates wall pieces and free-standing sculptures in varying geometrical shapes and sizes, ranging from smaller forms on pedestals to large-scale, outdoor structures in the shape of pyramids, ziggurats, tetrahedrons and occasionally crystals. He worked in highly polished stainless steel and bronze and occasionally made work that in effect sliced the planks into thin, repeating elements that leaned against the wall in rows.
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usually applied as a monochrome. Sometimes an application of multiple colors marbleizes or runs down the sculpture's surface, like a molten lava flow. McCracken typically makes each resin or lacquer work by hand rather than using industrial fabrication. Each is handmade by McCracken himself, who carefully paints them. The monochrome surfaces are sanded and polished many times to such a degree of reflectiveness that they seem translucent. He also made objects of softly stained wood or, in recent years, highly polished bronze and reflective stainless steel. In 2010, for example, he created various sculptures that are polished to produce such a high degree of reflectivity that they simultaneously activate their surroundings and seem entirely camouflaged.
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construction. In the late 1960s, McCracken moved to Los
Angeles, where he worked until moving Santa Fe in the early 1990s. His West Coast work represents a unique interpretation of minimalist art being produced in New York during the period. McCracken's work, along with his contemporaries, often used
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In 1966, McCracken generated his signature sculptural form: the plank, a narrow, monochromatic, rectangular board format that leans at an angle against the wall (the site of painting) while simultaneously entering into the three-dimensional realm and physical space of the viewer. He conceived the
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In McCracken's work, color was also used as "material." Bold solid colors with their highly polished finish reflect the unique
California light or mirror the observer in a way that takes the work into another dimension. His palette included bubble-gum pink, lemon yellow, deep sapphire and ebony,
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during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He worked alongside artists John Slorp, Peter
Schnore, Tom Nuzum, Vincent Perez, and Terry St. John. While experimenting with increasingly three-dimensional canvases, McCracken began to produce art objects made with industrial techniques and materials. His
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in Reno and Las Vegas and at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, McCracken received relatively little critical attention. A 1985 move to Los Angeles with his wife, artist Gail Barringer, revived his career in terms of newly conceived bodies of work, gallery and museum exhibitions, and
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Early objects created by John McCracken were derived from company logos such as the
Chevron corporation logo. His sculptures deal with the interrelationships existing between the material world and design.
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pieces were handcrafted from plywood and surfaced with fiberglass and layers of hand-mixed, reflective, colorful resin. He applied techniques akin to those used in
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McCracken's art has been included in every important exhibition of
Minimalist sculpture in both the United States and Europe, starting with “
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In 1971 to 1972, he made a rarely seen series of paintings based on Hindu and
Buddhist mandalas, first shown at Castello di Rivoli in 2011.
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colors and reflective surfaces that referenced the
California sun, colorful cars, and surfboards. Later McCracken was part of the
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in Los
Angeles in 1965 and his first in New York at the Robert Elkon Gallery in 1966. He then trailed off, with his next show at
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in Oakland, earning a B.F.A. in 1962 and completing most of the work for an M.F.A. During these years he studied with
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recognition by a younger generation of artists, dealers, and curators. McCracken had lived in Santa Fe since 1994.
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His top-ten prices at auction all exceed $ 200,000, including his high auction mark for an eight-foot-tall
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John McCracken developed his early sculptural work while studying painting as a graduate student at the
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from 1972, in polyester resin, fiberglass, and plywood, that sold for £180,000 ($ 358,637) at
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in 1966 and with "American Sculpture of the Sixties" at the Los Angeles County Museum.
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During the 1970s and early 1980s, a period when he devoted his time to teaching at the
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in 2007, in which a small survey of his art was woven throughout the larger show.
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Untitled slab painting, resin and fiberglass sculpture by McCracken, 1981
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Kellein, Thomas (August 1995). "Interview with John McCracken".
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New York in November 2010 against an estimate of $ 120–180,000.
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Untitled slab painting, resin and fiberglass sculpture, 1981,
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University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara
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After graduating from high school, McCracken served in the
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You Won't Know Which One Until You've Been to All of Them
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A retrospective of McCracken's work was hosted by the
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was published in 2008 by Santa Fe–based Radius Books.
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393:voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent (2004).
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816:Gate, 1995, Berardo Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
125:artist. He lived and worked in Los Angeles,
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347:Learn how and when to remove this message
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972:. Kunsthalle Basel. pp. 21–39, 32.
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287:
282:
280:
276:
272:
268:
248:Robert Irwin
219:
155:
136:
118:
117:
108:
72:(2011-04-08)
1355:2011 deaths
1350:1934 births
1258:Anne Truitt
1203:Donald Judd
1168:Minimal art
811:Wing (Aile)
520:Blue Column
414:Black Plank
297:Exhibitions
256:Donald Judd
204:1975–1985:
195:1973–1975:
189:1972–1973:
182:1971–1972:
172:1968–1969:
166:1966–1968:
160:1965–1966:
1344:Categories
1299:Minimalism
1248:Tony Smith
1218:Sol LeWitt
1213:Yves Klein
1198:Dan Flavin
1193:Larry Bell
1058:January 6,
931:2024-03-17
875:References
628:Right Down
592:, Pasadena
480:April 2017
426:Christie's
408:At auction
337:April 2017
264:Carl Andre
260:Dan Flavin
244:Larry Bell
186:, New York
151:Tony DeLap
123:minimalist
97:Minimalism
51:1934-12-09
1053:documenta
792:Red Plank
773:Mandala V
612:, Oakland
602:, Oakland
451:does not
374:” at the
367:in 1992.
227:surfboard
87:Sculpture
1284:De Stijl
1175:Artists
1103:obituary
1101:LA Times
863:, 1974)
803:, 1971,
784:, 1967,
775:, 1972,
751:, 1964,
741:, 1978,
731:, 1966,
721:, 1969,
719:Untitled
711:, 1999,
701:, 1970,
691:, 1965,
681:, 1967,
665:, 1965,
655:, 1965,
645:, 1970,
622:Painting
608:, 1967,
596:Le Baron
588:, 1965,
580:Untitled
574:Red Cube
549:, 1982,
547:Untitled
540:, 1967,
531:, 1976,
522:, 1967,
512:, 1974,
156:Taught:
93:Movement
1079:ARTINFO
988:(1967)"
568:Pyramid
562:Plank I
556:Mykonos
472:removed
457:sources
1324:Op art
867:
861:London
834:
504:No. 25
402:Kassel
1267:Forms
764:Green
689:Naxos
673:Plank
653:Chimu
529:Plank
422:Flash
1179:list
1060:2024
865:ISBN
832:ISBN
455:any
453:cite
262:and
216:Work
149:and
67:Died
61:, US
41:Born
1130:at
466:by
400:in
327:by
266:.
1346::
1077:.
1051:.
1031:.
1012:.
1000:^
990:.
948:.
924:.
907:^
897:.
883:^
859::
766:,
749:23
598:,
258:,
246:,
242:,
238:,
208:,
176:,
153:.
109:23
1181:)
1177:(
1160:e
1153:t
1146:v
1062:.
1037:.
1016:.
994:.
934:.
901:.
840:.
493:)
487:(
482:)
478:(
474:.
460:.
350:)
344:(
339:)
335:(
321:.
53:)
49:(
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