Alice Baber — Crossing Winds, 1974
Details
Signed ‘Baber’ (lower right); signed, titled and dated ‘Alice Baber Crossing Winds, 1974’ (on the reverse of the canvas).
Sizes:
Artwork: 83 × 86 cm | 32.7 × 33.9 in
Crossing Winds, executed in 1974, is a radiant example of Alice Baber’s mastery of light, color, and fluid abstraction. Known for her unique “staining” technique, Baber allows translucent layers of pigment to overlap, creating a sense of ethereal depth and rhythmic movement across the canvas.
In this work, the circular forms—a hallmark of her mature style—appear to float and intersect, suggesting a dynamic, celestial interplay of light and atmosphere that lives up to the evocative title.
Baber’s compositions are often described as celebrations of color, and Crossing Winds is no exception. The orchestration of cool blues and greens, punctuated by warm notes of yellow and coral, evokes a sense of airy turbulence and calm simultaneously.
By eschewing rigid structural lines in favor of pulsing, overlapping orbs, Baber invites the viewer into a meditative experience, where the boundaries between light and form dissolve, reflecting her lifelong quest to capture the pure energy of the visible world.
Provenance
Private collection, Düsseldorf (acquired in the 1970s).
Private collection, Mr. Marcus Schuster.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Condition Report
Overall good condition. Please contact us to request a detailed Condition Report.
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Alice Baber
Alice Baber was an influential American abstract expressionist painter known for her vibrant use of color and mastery of light. Born in Illinois, she studied at Indiana University and travelled extensively in Europe and Latin America, developing a unique artistic style defined by luminous layers of thin oil paint and characteristic circular, luminous forms. Her work celebrated color as the primary subject, creating compositions that seemed to radiate energy and optical movement.
Throughout her career, Baber exhibited widely in major international galleries and museums, and she was also a passionate curator and champion of women in the arts. Today, her paintings are held in prestigious public and private collections around the world, continuing to gain recognition for their profound contribution to post-war abstraction and her pioneering artistic vision.
