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Francesco Clemente

Purgatorio

September 10–October 15, 1994
980 Madison Avenue, New York

Fearlessly painted under the propitious sign of Dante, the Purgatorio of Francesco Clemente recalls those beings whose souls, while in a state of grace, patiently expiate sins of the flesh. Hence, a powerful eroticism surges through these ambitious new paintings even as they invoke the long spiritual anticipation of their subjects.

As is frequently the case with Clemente, these five works inspired the creation of a group of thematically parallel poems, this time by Robert Creeley. Each poem, beginning with title-work There, invokes a specific painting of the same title to be found among Clemente's Purgatorio.

As Virgil led Dante through Purgatory, the limited edition of There, the five poems by Creeley, also serves as catalogue and guide to the Clemente exhibiton. There are also four related pastels by the artist included in the exhibition.