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Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

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Jo Baer

Yellow Band

1966–69

On View in James M. Kemper Gallery, Room 2

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Both panels of Jo Baer’s vertically oriented diptych consist of an expansive, white, rectangular field bounded on the edges by a black band and a thin line of golden yellow. Like other artists associated with Minimalism in the 1960s, Baer’s abstract works engage the viewer’s perceptual experience, often through seriality and geometric form. The artist pursued painting’s potential as a radical medium, focusing on its basic geometry and physical elements. Her application of paint emphasizes the flatness of the canvas, producing, as she states, “paintings that picture their own shapes.” Yellow Band is one of a group of paired canvases with similar visual elements that differ in color and orientation. The color and shape of these works produce such optical phenomena as Mach bands (where the contrast between light and dark colors heightens the luminosity of both) and retinal glare (in which a white area appears to expand). [Permanent Collection Label, 2023]

  • Artist Jo Baer (American, b. 1929)
  • Title Yellow Band
  • Date 1966–69
  • Medium Oil on 2 canvas panels
  • Dimensions unframed | 36 x 25 x 1 1/4 in. (each)
  • Credit line Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Harold J. Joseph, 1981
  • Object number WU 1981.15 a-b
  • Currently on View James M. Kemper Gallery, Room 2

Minimal Art from St. Louis Collections
Saint Louis Art Museum, 08/26/2005 - 07/23/2006

The Centennial Exhibition
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 05/15/1981 - 10/11/1981

1981
Dr. & Mrs. Harold Joseph

Inscription Canvas a -- Verso, in black paint: J. Baer '66-'69 1/2

Inscription Canvas b -- Verso, in black paint: J. Baer '66-'69 1/2

Inscription Canvas a -- Verso on stretcher, printed label: Locksley Shea Gallery / 1300 MT. Curve / Minneapolis, MN 55403

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

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May 15, 1981 - October 11, 1981
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Exhibitions

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