Larry Poons: Lee's Retreat, 1963, Liquitex and fabric spray paint on canvas 80 inches square. Courtesy Loretta Howard.
In the late 1950s, while the New York art world pondered the fate of painting after the glory days of Abstract Expressionism, Poons caused a stir with hard-edge compositions inspired by Mondrian as well as his friend and mentor Barnett Newman. In 1963, while still in his 20s, Poons introduced his now-famous and often imitated “dot paintings” in a solo show at Richard Bellamy’s Green Gallery. Though most of these works are in museum collections, several prime examples of the series are here, including the pulsating Lee’s Retreat (1963) and the epic-scale Jessica’s Hartford (1965), which remain as enthralling as ever.