Michael Goldberg, “Jacob’s Ladder XV,” 1989, oil on canvas, 68 x 70 1/2”.
Michael Goldberg shared that intense New York melting pot with folks like Lee Krasner and Mark Rothko, and like many of those artists lived at a high pitch and tooled a very sophisticated Abstract Expressionist style. Goldberg’s thickly layered, strident squiggles, stripes, and calligraphic marks were painted with none of the webby transparency we find in his non-representational and figurative peers. After some time in a mental institution during the 1960s and the requisite multiple marriages, Goldberg settled into a teaching post in New York, a home in Italy and a mature career that produced some inner calm and rich work. This high caliber survey indicates that Goldberg is one of those second tier Ab Ex’ers deserving of a closer look.
Published courtesy of ArtScene
