Creating works with a fascinating range of tone and expression Sean Scully's oeuvre is a
continuous exploration of his core motif of lines and swaths of color. Captivating the observer
through an uncertainty of edges and brushstrokes that appear to exalt the materiality of paint
pigment and abstraction Scully experiments with a variety of media and materials. Material
World provides insight into the artist's practice and stylistic approach which have evolved
through a sustained engagement with the art historical tradition of Formalism. In an in-depth
essay Raphy Sarkissian situates Sean Scully's art in dialogue with selected works of abstract
and figurative modern and pre-modern painting and sculpture as well as with aesthetic
theories. This dialogue translates further into the interplay of the museum's architecture and
the Neoclassical sculptures presented alongside Scully's work. SEAN SCULLY (*1945 Dublin) is
one of the world's most acclaimed contemporary artists. The oeuvre of the Irish-born artist
who grew up in London and moved to New York in 1975 is characterized by an intense
confrontation with Abstract Expressionism Action Painting and Minimalism. Beyond a purely
formal exploration of color form plane and light in his abstract paintings and sculptures
his visual expressiveness is matched by intellectually engaging writings and lectures. Scully
lives and works in New York Barcelona and near Munich.
