Michael (Corinne) West, circa 1950

Michael (Corinne) West, circa 1945

"Study Forms",
oil on canvas,
1956,
24 x 32"

"Study",
oil on canvas,
1965,
50 x 30"

123 Watts is pleased to present Automatic Paintings an exhibition of selected abstract expressionist works by Michael West (1908-1991). The exhibition will be on view from May 20 through July 10, 1999.

Michael West's Automatic Paintings boldly convey the dynamic era when the center of progressive and creative thought established itself firmly on American soil. Her paintings are a visual barometer of both the explosive changes in Post-War American art and the momentous events of our recent history -- from the early days of the Cold War and the Kennedy assassination to the writings of Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer and Simone de Beauvoir.

At the time, West was sometimes compared to her Abstract Expressionist colleague, Franz Kline. Her canvases are complex and multi-layered spontaneous statements balanced by a compositionalist mode with a sureness of hand. This was no doubt due to the intense concentration and focus she developed through her study of Buddhism. Much like the surrealists who drew in trance-like states to create their Automatic Drawings with eyes shut, Michael West created in essence, Automatic Paintings, but with open eyes.

In the late 1940's, along with the inclusion of object in her canvases (nails, pencils etc.) Michael West was the first to develop staining as an artistic expression. This was some years ahead of Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. Her intellectual innovations came about as a product of privilege and progressive education.

Given the realities of the time, the young Corinne West changed her name to Michael not to be judged as a "woman artist". West wanted her art to stand on its own. Today, this spirited and significant body of work will find its place in art history.