Genius: Pat Passlof...Slighted by The New York Circle Jerk

 Score for a Bird (1958)



"The creative act is not hanging on, but yielding to a new creative movement. Awe is what moves us forward."
 Joseph Campbell



 By Federico Correa

Recently while surfing the net, I discovered the late abstract expressionist painter Pat Passlof.  It was an accident.    I  had originally Googled Milton Resnick seminal abstract expressionist painter that I admire greatly. I did find  Resnick in his  New York studio on YouTube where he spoke eloquently about his approach to painting and the painting process.  I also found   Passlof ...a mere sidenote....the wife of Resnick... in the same video addressing her work.    However,  it was Passlof explaining  her approach to picture making that impressed  me.  Her ever  brief exposé along with  her glorious  images    jolted my aesthetic senses. I was amazed and immediately taken by her genius.



Pat Passlof, Ionian, 1956, oil on linen, 35 x 32 inches (courtesy of Elizabeth Harris Gallery)



"If you love something, set it free," 

  

Passlof's  paintings move me on multiple aesthetic levels. Most of all, I find  her  work powerful, astonishing and poetic.  Perhaps the immediate attraction  is their stunning ebullient  beauty. More importantly,  perhaps it is the virile  honesty that resonates from within that attracts. Nethertheless,    her painted image quietly demands pause and  consideration seemingly  whispering for closer scrutiny.  Indeed, her painted image is akin to  reading  lyric  poetry to oneself in the quiet of the day; and  indeed, the work is  personal however inclusive.    Fraught with swirling dynamic   painted forms, shapes and color, Passlof  expresses her inner most soul con brio. Her love,   enthusiasm, liveliness and spirit is undeniable.

Pat Passlof with Bird
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

 Beyond the beauty and humanity conveyed by her painted image,    one is struck by the strong sense of freedom and liberation emanating from her work as well.   In spite of the painted  poetic whisper,  pigment and its application triumphantly scream of joy and liberation. "If you love something, set it free."  Nothing is contrived.     Nothing appears preconceived. It just happened and  all is guided by the  heart...el corazon.

Pat Passlof, Stove, 1959, oil on linen, 77 x 69 inches (courtesy of Elizabeth Harris Gallery)

Passlof began her painted  journey as   student of Willem de Kooning. She learned  much from her teacher....however  building and creating her own vision.    Her  marks  are rife with human frailty. Perfection does not exist here.  Her painted images are    organic, uneven , self-conscious however secure in execution.   The   human hand abounds in her work. There is nothing precious about her painted image.



Pat Passlof, Lookout, 1959, oil on linen, 69 x 69 inches (courtesy of Elizabeth Harris Gallery)

On a very mundane level, Passlof's  work speaks from  the gut...however  fraught with  poetic drama that  demands the viewer's immediate consideration.     No need  for the  painted word.   Simply,  her image making is one of love. A love affair where  paint and  heart  coalesce...coming together whispering softly in what is inherent in  the joy of painting.   All we need to do is look...contemplate...and we too will feel the humanity that guided this wonderful painter.



Promenade for a Bachelor, 1958
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation



Finally, I wonder  why  Passlof...seminal abstract expressionist  painter is not celebrated, much less acknowledged as are  so many of her male contemporaries .   Overlooked is hardly the operative word here. Ignored and marginalized perhaps. Plainly, this great, significant and seminal  painter has been slighted  by the circle jerk that defines the flabby,  male-dominated contemporary  "artworld".  Passlof died in 2011. She was 83. 

 More on Pat Passlof.....

Pat Passloff: Paintings from the 50's--Reinstating the Question of Meaning...by David Loncle, Studio art professor, College of Staten Island.

#2. Paul Behnke writes on Pat Passlof

Pat Passlof, Abstract Expressionist Painter, Dies at 83  New York Times

 Pat Passlof and Milton Resnick

                                                

                  
 

Images courtesy of Elizabeth Harris Gallery