Description
In her bold and large-scale paintings, Louise Fishman expands the tradition of Abstract Expressionism through
continuous experimenting with composition and form. Exuding a dynamic interplay of fluid gesture and grid,
Iron Sharpens Iron exemplifies the vertically oriented compositions of the artist’s work of the early 1990s. Her brushstrokes evoke Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, inspired in part by her daily Buddhist meditation practice. The work’s formal iconography developed out of Fishman’s career-long investigations into the abstract and contemplative qualities of painting.
Accession Number
149374
Medium
Oil on linen
Dimensions
279.4 × 177.8 cm (110 × 70 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Gift of Robert Miller and Sarah Wittenborn Miller
Background & Context
Background Story
Louise Fishman's Iron Sharpens Iron (1993) is an oil on linen abstract painting. Fishman was an American painter associated with feminist art and Abstract Expressionism. Her work is characterized by gestural brushwork and rich color. The title Iron Sharpens Iron reflects the combative yet productive energy of her painting process.
Cultural Impact
Fishman was a significant figure in the feminist art movement and Abstract Expressionism.
Why It Matters
This gestural abstract painting captures the energy and materiality of Fishman's work, the heavily worked surface reflecting the process of creation.
