Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue?

Curated by Ellen Hackl Fagan, Founder and Director, ODETTA Gallery

Conversations between artists have always been a healthy antithesis to the pervasive myth that art is made in a solitary environment. In New York City, these conversations are promoted in robust arts communities that telegraph ultimately throughout a global art world.

In 1966 Barnett Newman began a series of monumental paintings titled “Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue?” In his response to Ab Ex painting, he chose to strip painting of any need for narrative, and instead, allowed color to be the sole subject of these works. The ginormous scale of this series drove the point home further, enveloping the viewer in Red, Yellow, and Blue, one by one. This step into Minimalist Abstraction was so radical that it caused several very public assaults against these works over the latter half of the 20th century. In addition to infuriating some, it inspired many other artists. His works propelled Conceptualism into becoming the next wave of contemporary art, lasting and influencing generations of artists. The most sublime response to the question “ Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue?,” for this curator, was Robert Irwin's piece, “Whose Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue?”, created in 2006, shown at Pace Gallery in Chelsea. Irwin surrounded us in ever larger panels of reflective red, yellow, and blue, and installed them on the floor and suspended them from the ceiling, offering the viewer an immersive experience in both primary colors and the full color spectrum due to the reflective nature of the panels.

The question is, are you afraid of Red, Yellow, and Blue? Whether you stay clear of these colors in your artwork or whether you embrace them, for this exhibition we'd love a variety of fearless approaches to this challenge, thus continuing the advancement of a new century of contemporary art.

About the Curator:

Ellen Hackl Fagan has been featured in over 30 solo, and numerous group, invitational, and juried exhibitions in the greater New York metropolitan area and Northeast. Fagan has works included in permanent public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has recently been the full color feature in print in Post Road Vol. #37 Winter issue 2021. She has been the subject of multiple interviews both on the air and online including WBYX’s radio program out of Yale University, and the New York Public Library’s Artist Interview series. Known widely for her generosity in offering artists opportunities, Fagan is also a fluent and experienced curator; as creator and director of ODETTA, www.odettagallery.com, she has curated and produced over 80 exhibitions showcasing well over 250 artists. Recently the pandemic inspired her to pivot to a new exhibition paradigm of online curatorial practices as founder of ODETTA Digital on the Shim Art Network, and ODETTA Petite, offering services enabling artists to better navigate social media tools and to develop their own curatorial voices and gallery spaces, both virtually and in real life. Fagan maintains her studio and curatorial practice in New York City, Connecticut, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

www.ehfaganstudio.com.

@ehfaganstudio

@odettagallery

This form is for artists to submit images of their work for consideration to this curated exhibition. Accepted artworks must be available for display during the entire exhibition period. All accepted work must be hand delivered and picked up during the Delivery and Pick Up dates listed below. Work must be delivered fully prepared for installation. The gallery has installed a new hanging system and we would prefer D rings on your artwork if possible.