What is most striking when visiting the Philip Guston exhibition at the Tate Modern is not only that the paintings demonstrate Guston’s unique talent and imagination, but that they also tell a story of his life, these paintings being inextricably linked to his own experiences.
The exhibition first introduces us to Guston’s early work. In his youth, Guston used his art to promote positive social change. He was a member of the Bloc Painters, who were inspired to come together by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros. A teenage Guston was surrounded by an America riddled with anti-semitism, racism and anti-immigrant sentiments, so it is easy to understand how his work quickly became political. This is especially poignant bearing in mind his own family history as the son of Jewish immigrants who had escaped persecution in what is modern-day Ukraine.
In 1934, Guston travelled to Mexico and, along with Reuben Kadish and Jules Langsner, painted a poignant, radical mural called The Struggle Against Terrorism. Some examples of Guston’s murals are beautifully projected onto a screen within the exhibition. This really helps to bring the paintings vividly to life, highlighting not only their sheer size but also the planning and thought that must have gone into raising awareness of social issues in this way. The exhibition in fact could benefit from an even greater use of projections, and of video footage of Guston himself; the video of him at the end felt a little like an afterthought.
Much of Guston’s work features hooded figures representing the Ku Klux Klan, and much of what inspired Guston’s artistic activism was his horror at the activities of the Klan. In an undated studio note, Guston wrote that the KKK had ‘haunted’ him since his childhood and as a result he had been inspired to create works that reflected their ‘cruelty and evil.’
Guston’s work from the 1940s forms the next phase of the exhibition. This often featured children fighting and references to the Holocaust. We then follow his move to more abstract work in the 1950s. It is striking to witness how work by the same artist can be so radically different. Guston’s abstract art is certainly intriguing, but seems to somewhat lack the flair and individuality of his earlier creations. Nevertheless, no matter your opinion of his abstract work, it was a necessary part of Guston’s artistic journey.
The penultimate section of the exhibition is especially captivating and dates from the 1960s, which was a troubled period in Guston’s personal life. He and his wife and artistic collaborator Musa McKim were experiencing problems in their relationship, which led Guston to give up working for 18 months. When he returned to art, he turned to drawing and produced a selection of sketches, mostly of objects rather than figures. These paintings appear stripped back and perhaps show Guston searching for some kind of deeper meaning beyond what they portray- perhaps something he needed at this point in his life.
At the end of our journey through his work Guston returns to something more colourful, echoing the art of his youth. In this period he painted some of his most famous works, such as The Line. It seems that Guston had rediscovered himself in this era of his life, a process perhaps assisted by his reconciliation with McKim.
The Philip Guston exhibition depicts variety, activism and, most importantly, a real human life in the form of a selection of captivating paintings. It is most definitely worth a visit, especially if you have not encountered his unique art before.
The exhibition is on at the Tate Modern in London until February 2024.