Jack Whitten (b. 1939)

I have been chasing the idea of the unit, as the plastic underpinning of abstract painting, for the past 50 years. Norman Lewis knew about the unit and spoke of it as a single gesture or point. My early 1960’s visits to Norman Lewis’ studio on 125th Street was a highlight of my life as a young artist. We spoke about painting, and we spoke about ‘The Problem.’ His insistence on the Black
artists’ freedom to investigate pure abstraction without the intervention of social narrative continues to nourish my commitment to abstract painting. His mentorship was a gift of cosmic proportions.

Jack Whitten
New York City, October 2014