Blue Rational/Irrational

1969

Blue Rational/Irrational, 1969. Al Loving (American, 1935–2005). Acrylic on canvas; 147 x 322.5 cm (57 7/8 x 126 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the KeyBank Collection 2019.58 © The Estate of Al Loving and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York Across both canvases of this large-scale diptych, Loving evokes a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface through strategic layerings of cubic forms and carefully calibrated color juxtapositions. Around the time Loving made this work he wrote, “I am tired of objects on walls. The wall must be pierced, brought forward, pushed back.” Blue Rational/Irrational is a bold manifestation of this sentiment. This work debuted in Al Loving: Paintings (1969) at the Whitney Museum, the museum’s first solo exhibition by an African American artist.