Findlay Galleries is pleased to present Something Blue, a comprehensive, gallery-wide exhibition using the color blue as a unifying theme. The historical application of blue in painting was limited due to its rarity and cost, with lapis lazuli being its primary source. By the beginning of the 19th century, synthetic and cheaper modes of production allowed blue to be widely applied. From Picasso’s Blue Period to Yves Klein’s signature blue, the color has had a profound effect on modern art movements.

Something Blue includes a diverse range of artists who have applied the color through various mediums and styles.  As a ubiquitous color present in our skies and seas, blue is necessary for representational work, such as Jean Dufy’s Le Pont Alexandre III, which uses multiple hues of blue to depict the sky and the Seine while emitting a Fauve-inspired energy. Blue is used to a similar effect in Jean Jules Cavailles’ Les Petroliers a Lavera, which depicts oil tankers floating on a vast expanse of blue water on an idyllic Mediterranean day. In other examples, the hue is used abstractly, such as Ptolemy Mann’s Alqa (Between Orange and Blue), a painting that brims with undulating fields of blue, hitting an emotional note amongst an emotional medley of vibrant colors.  Its abstract application can also be found in Ronnie Landfield’s Freedom on High, where acrylic paint is diluted with water to create a complex, serene piece that channels landscapes and nature. Additional artists including Gordon Onslow Ford, Robert Natkin, Henrik Simonsen, John Ferren, Mary Sipp Green, and Ilya Bolotowsky who all offer their interpretations of the vast possibilities inherent in the color blue.