Surface Of Coral

A Lyrical Abstract: Ronnie Landfield’s Surface Of Coral and the Poetry of Color

The early 1980s marked a period of refinement for Ronnie Landfield, a second-generation Abstract Expressionist who had emerged in the late 1960s as a bridge between the gestural intensity of the New York School and the more contemplative abstractions of the 1970s. Surface Of Coral (1981) exemplifies this evolution—a work where the raw physicality of poured paint meets a near-musical harmony of hue and form. Unlike the dense, layered canvases of his earlier All Over series, this painting distills Landfield’s approach into a luminous dialogue between coral-toned grounds and floating geometric accents. The title itself suggests a duality: "surface" implies a tangible plane, while "coral" evokes both the organic reefs of the natural world and the synthetic pigments that define his palette.

Landfield’s work of this era often explored the tension between spontaneity and control, a theme central to Abstract Expressionism’s second wave. As The Art Story notes, his paintings from the late 1970s and early 1980s frequently employed "stained fields of color interrupted by abrupt, hard-edged forms," a technique that Surface Of Coral deploys with particular elegance. The coral base—neither fully pink nor orange—serves as a warm, pulsating ground, while the overlapping rectangles in muted blues and greens create a rhythmic counterpoint. This interplay reflects Landfield’s interest in jazz improvisation, where structured motifs coexist with fluid, unpredictable passages. The painting’s 30×40 cm dimensions further concentrate its impact, inviting close inspection of its textural nuances.

Ronnie Landfield in the 1980s: Between Lyricism and Structure

By 1981, Ronnie Landfield had long since moved beyond the aggressive pours and splatters of his early career, when he was often grouped with the "radical painters" of the late 1960s alongside figures like Dan Christensen and Larry Poons. The 1980s found him in a more meditative phase, one where the lessons of Color Field painting—particularly the work of Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis—merged with his own idiosyncratic approach to composition. Surface Of Coral belongs to this period of synthesis, where Landfield’s canvases became less about the act of painting and more about the experience of color.

This shift mirrored broader trends in American abstraction. As the Museum of Modern Art has documented, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw many artists revisiting abstraction’s core principles in response to the dominance of Minimalism and Conceptual Art. Landfield’s work from this time stands out for its refusal to abandon beauty or emotion—a stance that aligned him with critics like Clement Greenberg, who championed abstraction’s capacity to evoke "optical delight" without representational crutches. In Surface Of Coral, the hard-edged rectangles function almost like musical rests, punctuating the fluid stained fields and creating a visual tempo that rewards prolonged viewing.

Landfield’s genius in Surface Of Coral lies in its contradictions: the warmth of coral against cool geometric interruptions, the tension between the handmade and the precise. It’s a painting that feels both spontaneous and meticulously orchestrated—a duality that defines his most enduring works.

The Making of Surface Of Coral: Process and Innovation

Staining and Layering

Landfield’s method for Surface Of Coral began with a process of staining raw canvas with thinned acrylic paint, a technique he adopted from Helen Frankenthaler’s soak-stain approach. Unlike Frankenthaler’s often translucent washes, however, Landfield built up opacity in stages, allowing the coral base to achieve its distinctive saturation. The stained ground was then overlaid with carefully masked geometric forms, applied in a more traditional brushwork style. This combination of staining and hard-edged painting created a dialogue between the organic and the constructed—a signature of his work from this period.

Chromatic Balance and Spatial Ambiguity

The painting’s color palette—dominated by the titular coral, but punctuated by teal, lavender, and slate gray—was mixed to exploit the optical effects of simultaneous contrast. Landfield often tested his hues on small panels before committing to the final canvas, ensuring that the warm ground would make the cooler shapes appear to vibrate. The overlapping rectangles, meanwhile, defy a single spatial reading: they hover ambiguously between foreground and background, a trick Landfield achieved by varying the opacity of their edges. This ambiguity invites viewers to mentally "reconstruct" the painting’s depth with each glance.

Displaying Surface Of Coral: A Curator’s Approach to Your Walls

The warm coral tones and geometric contrast of this print make it remarkably versatile for contemporary interiors. In a living room, it serves as a focal point above a neutral-toned sofa, where its 30×40 cm dimensions (12×16 inches) allow it to anchor a conversation area without overwhelming the space. For a more dramatic effect, pair it with deep navy or charcoal gray walls—the cool backdrop will intensify the painting’s luminosity. In a home office or study, Surface Of Coral complements minimalist wood furniture and brass accents, its abstract forms fostering a creative atmosphere. Avoid busy patterns nearby; instead, let the print’s interplay of hard and soft edges dictate the room’s visual rhythm. Landfield’s work thrives in spaces that balance modernity with warmth—a testament to its enduring appeal.

More Works by Ronnie Landfield

Explore the evolution of Landfield’s abstract language through these key pieces from his career.

Ronnie Landfield

All Over Pour Painting

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Ronnie Landfield

Brown Wall

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Ronnie Landfield

Sun Castle

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Ronnie Landfield

Cheat River

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