Introduction to the Exhibition — The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L.

Adam Greenhalgh, exhibition curator and lead author on the team producing the catalogue raisonné Mark Rothko: The Works on Paper, National Gallery of Art. For centuries artists have made multipart series, undertaking subjects on a scale not possible in a single work. This engagement was especially prevalent in the 1960s, as artists dedicated to conceptual, minimalist, and pop approaches explored the potential of serial procedures and structures. Many prominent artists since then have produced serial projects at the renowned Los Angeles print workshop and publisher Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited). In honor of The Serial Impulse at Gemini G.E.L., an exhibition opening at the National Gallery of Art on October 4, 2015, Adam Greenhalgh provides an overview of 17 series created at Gemini by 17 artists over the past five decades. On view through February 7, 2016, the exhibition includes seminal early works by artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella as well as more recent serial projects by John Baldessari, Julie Mehretu, and Richard Serra.