Blue Stone

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Blue Stone is a color lithograph on paper made by artist Lee Krasner.

Blue Stone is one of three prints from Krasner’s Primary Series (Blue Stone, Gold Stone, and Pink Stone) that references the primary triad of blue, yellow, and red.

Krasner was an American, abstract expressionist and part of an era of art-making characterized by gestural marks and artworks that embodied spontaneity, emotion, and improvisation.1 Krasner’s use of these expressive, emotive marks is seen clearly here in Blue Stone.

The chaotic beauty of the work has a meditative effect and I encourage you to sit with the abstract shapes and patterns, as their movements reveal themselves to you.

Through this process, I tuned in more closely to the circular and cyclic movement I saw in Krasner’s energetic strokes.

By this, I refer to the way her marks seem to guide my eyes through the work in almost a figure eight. My gaze bounces from the top left corner and then diagonally across the work, but I always eventually find my eye back where I began. It’s an inviting kind of hypnotic effect, captivating me as I am guided through the composition again and again.

The shade of blue also holds my attention, reminding me of blue stains used on cells in biology class or ink blots left behind from a blue pen.

What meaning does the color blue hold for you? Or perhaps, knowing this work exists in a larger series based around the primary colors, do you wonder why Kasner selected this shade of blue?

The entire Primary Series is held by the Union College Permanent Collection. If you’re interested in viewing another print in this series, see Gold Stone, currently on display on the lower level of the O’Brien Center.

 - Mallory Schultz, Art Collections & Exhibitions Fellow 2019 - 2020

[1] Jason Farago, “Lee Krasner, Hiding in Plain Sight,” New York Times, August 19, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com; “Abstract Expressionism, “ Tate, May 25, 2020 accessed, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/a/abstract-expressionism.

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