From Accidental Inferno to Artistic Insight: Luise Kaish's Transformative Creative Path
The Genesis of a Revolutionary Technique: How a Fiery Frustration Ignited a New Artistic Era
In the summer of 1976, while immersed in a residency at MacDowell, a prestigious artist colony in New Hampshire, Luise Kaish, a distinguished artist, found herself grappling with creative roadblocks. A moment of intense frustration led her to discard unwanted canvas pieces into her studio's fireplace. This seemingly destructive act, however, unexpectedly birthed a profound artistic revelation. Her husband, Morton Kaish, observing the scene, recounted how the burning canvas unfurled, revealing a spectrum of deep black and brown hues unattainable through conventional pigments. This striking visual prompted Luise to salvage the scorched remnants, laying the groundwork for a wholly novel artistic approach.
Defining a Decade: The Impact of Kaish's 'Burntworks' on Her Illustrious Career
Crouched on the stone floor of her MacDowell studio, Luise Kaish inaugurated a new phase of her artistic expression: the 'Burntworks.' These collages, meticulously constructed from scorched canvas, represented a significant departure from her established reputation as a sculptor of grand bronze figures. Over the subsequent decade, she produced more than fifteen of these distinctive pieces, fundamentally reshaping her artistic identity. Curator Susan Fisher, director of the Kaish Family Art Project, describes this period as a radical transformation, where creation emerged from an act of controlled destruction.
The Poetics of Paradox: Unveiling the Contradictory Beauty of Scorched Canvases
The 'Burntworks' allowed Kaish to imbue canvas with sculptural qualities, crafting intricate compositions through subtle, textured layers. These early creations from MacDowell, and those crafted upon her return to New York City, are remarkable for their inherent paradoxes. They exhibit a raw, minimalist quality in some areas, juxtaposed with aggressively charred sections. Precise adhesion coexists with deliberate imperfections and frayed edges, inviting viewers to engage intimately with each surface. While later 'Burntworks' incorporated paint and natural elements like tree bark, these initial monochromatic collages possess a compelling austerity, eloquently conveying complex narratives through the elemental interplay of fabric and fire.
A Centennial Celebration: Showcasing Kaish's Pioneering Creations in 'Fire on the Mountain'
MacDowell's Manhattan exhibition space is set to host the inaugural public display of Kaish's early 'Burntworks,' alongside later collages and a selection of her metal sculptures. This exhibition, titled 'Luise Kaish: Fire on the Mountain,' marks the commencement of a centennial tribute to the artist's life and work. It underscores how these relatively obscure pieces, created during her fifties, served as a pivotal turning point in her illustrious six-decade career. Chiwoniso Kaitano, MacDowell's executive director, praises the exhibition as a powerful testament to a transformative moment in Kaish's creative journey, emphasizing MacDowell's enduring commitment to providing artists with the time, space, and freedom to innovate.
Nature's Embrace and Celestial Visions: Kaish's Artistic Dialogue with the World
Kaish's artistic output was profoundly influenced by the natural world. Her early 'Burntworks,' such as Firepond I and Monadnock I (both 1976), explicitly reference the New Hampshire landscape. Her sketchbooks from her MacDowell residency reveal numerous drawings of local flora, whose shapes seemingly reemerge in her abstract compositions. This affinity for nature continued into her later painted 'Burntworks,' exemplified by Aspen (1981), which captures the vibrant hues of an autumnal forest. Beyond terrestrial inspirations, Kaish was deeply captivated by outer space, a fascination her daughter Melissa described as being a 'NASA fanatic.' This cosmic interest is evident in pieces like her towering 1977 collage Creation, a powerful homage to celestial forces, and the intricate Poet in Two Worlds (Deep Space) from 1978, a significant work within her oeuvre that explores themes of cosmic shedding and transformation.
A Legacy Forged in Fire and Innovation: Kaish's Enduring Impact on Art
Luise Meyers, born in 1925 in Atlanta and raised in Flushing, Queens, embarked on a distinguished artistic path. After studying at Syracuse University and marrying Morton Kaish in 1948, she honed her skills under acclaimed Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Kaish secured numerous commissions, often for religious-themed modernist sculptures, and showcased her work in prominent galleries and museums. By the late 1970s, she had become a respected figure in the art world, culminating in her appointment as chair of the painting and sculpture program at Columbia University in 1980. Her deep spiritual connection, particularly to Jewish mysticism, resonated throughout her work, imbuing even her abstract 'Burntworks' with profound meaning, often referencing kabbalistic concepts of 'breaking of the vessels' and 'tikkun,' or healing the world. Her artistic philosophy, as she articulated for a 1981 exhibition catalog, celebrated ambiguity and clarity, viewing her 'Burntworks' as 'brief poems' and 'worlds in themselves,' offering a glimpse into the universe through a small window. Her pioneering spirit, particularly as a woman navigating the male-dominated sculpture world of the 20th century, solidified her enduring legacy as an innovator and a visionar