“I haven’t lived with that long enough to paint it.” Pierre Bonnard didn’t paint his still lifes and landscapes from observation, but from memory. He was an early member of the Nabi group, and was known for his exploration of light and atmosphere, which imbued his canvases with feeling. Despite his association with Edouard Vuillard and Maurice Denis, Bonnard’s work is unto itself. As the art historian Barry Schwabsky observed, “[It is his] unwillingness to fix himself or his viewers in place that attracts so many artists to his way of working.” This exhibition looks at three decades of Bonnard nudes, interiors, and landscapes. Special attention is paid to his sense of composition and color, which influenced artists as various as Mark Rothko, Alex Katz, and Lois Dodd. —Elena Clavarino
