Guston in Time

<b>In this warm and vibrant work of memoir and criticism a&#160;young writer forges a friendship with Philip Guston one of the most influential and controversial painters of the twentieth century.</b><br><br>The late work of Philip Guston has had a profound influence on painters today but as Guston&#146;s star has risen it has been forgotten how scandalous these paintings with their cartoonish imagery and almost fumbling application of paint were initially deemed to be. The 1970 show at the Marlborough Gallery in which Guston abandoning the delicate abstract expressionism for which he was known revealed his new style was critically savaged. In the aftermath of this drubbing he retreated to his studio in Woodstock New York&#151;in part to nurse his wounds but more important to go on painting exactly as he saw fit.<br><br>Ross Feld a young poet novelist and critic was one of the rare critics to respond favorably to Guston&#146;s late work. Guston answered with a grateful note and a new friendship was soon born. <i>Guston in Time</i> written not long before Feld&#146;s early death from cancer is a portrait of Guston the man; and of his wife Musa a major figure not only in his life but in his work; a reckoning with his supremely individual achievement as an artist; and a work of art in its own right.<br><br>A retrospective of Guston&#146;s work <i>Philip Guston Now</i> will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston from May 1 to September 11 2022; at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from October 23 2022 to January 15 2023; at the National Gallery of Art Washington D.C. from February 26 to August 27 2023; and at the Tate Modern London from October 3 2023 to February 4 2024.