Elizabeth Murray (1940-2007)

Through her big, bold canvases, Elizabeth Murray pursues painting that is both serious and joyful. To elements of Cezanne's compositional structure and Matisse's use of color and line, she adds Disneyesque whimsy. Murray toys with the art of abstraction, yet cleverly envelops in the present painting's amoeba-like shape canvas stretched over a sculptural, hand-built strainer. This creates the animated form of a red table with kicking legs, typical of Murray's use of familiar items plucked from everyday life. The teardrop shapes around the table suggest an emotional counterpoint in this domestic drama, and recall the painting's title from the 1966 hit by Question Mark and the Mysterians and later, by Aretha Franklin.