Birds of a Feather - Joseph Cornells Homage to Juan Gris

JOSEPH CORNELL (1903-1972)

American assemblage artist Joseph Cornell and the Spanish Cubist Juan Gris may seem an unlikely pair, but from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s, Cornell created no fewer than 21 works in homage to Gris. In fact, while Cornell and Gris were separated by time and place, their art is bound together by cultural and emotional continuity. This comprehensively illustrated catalogue, which unites these works for the first time, illuminates the uncanny connection between these two major 20th-century artists.

Cornell's bond with Gris was catalyzed by a serendipitous visit in late October 1953 to the Sidney Janis Gallery in Manhattan, where he discovered Gris's collage (1914). Soon after, Cornell produced his first assemblage inspired by the picture: a box construction containing found objects, collaged papers, and a prominently positioned image of a bird. In connecting the Cubist painter's masterpiece to the boxes Cornell dedicated to him, the publication affords a singular opportunity to appreciate a remarkable case of artistic influence.