Morris Louis – Omega IV (1959-1960)

Louisiana poster with the work, Omega IV, (1959-1960), by the American artist, Morris Louis, (1912-62). Morris Louis belonged to the new generation of colorfield painters that emerged in New York after World War II. Louisiana received this work – and several others – as a gift from Louis' widow, Marcella Louis Brenner, after an exhibition at the museum in 1975.

It is said of Morris Louis' work that he is one of the few artists of this century who has helped change the development of painting.

With Louis, a completely autonomous, abstract painting emerges for the first time. Like his contemporary Jackson Pollock, Louis was part of an experimental working group in New York, where the members worked with the methods of automatic painting.

The 'colorfield' method characterizes a painting where the color is detached from any form and occupies the canvas without limitations. In Omega IV, Louis controls the color by letting the raw canvas stand out and removing both the center and the sense of perspective.