Arshile Gorky: The Eye-Spring

Synopsis

'The eye spring..' Andre Breton once said of his friend, 'Gorky is for me the first painter to whom this secret has been completely revealed' A seminal figure in the shift to abstraction that transformed twentieth-century American art, this documentary provides an introduction to the career, influence and powerful visual language of Arshile Gorky (1904 — 1948). 'The Eye-Spring' is directed by Gorky's granddaughter Cosima Spender, and was first screened alongside last year's retrospective exhibition at Ca' Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art in Venice. Presenting over eighty paintings and works on paper, 'Arshile Gorky, 1904-1948' was the first Italian museum survey dedicated to the artist, shedding light on the Gorky's early artistic dialogue with Cezanne and his later influence on abstract expressionism.