BU College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts presents an engaging lecture with art historian Dr. Ben Street, exploring the artist and former Boston University faculty member, Philip Guston’s shift from abstraction to figuration, his 1974 BU exhibition, and ties to the Boston Expressionists and connection to Italian frescoes.

The story of Philip Guston's conversion from abstraction into cartoonish figuration around 1970 has been much discussed, and the moment of that late work's first public appearance (at Marlborough Gallery, New York, in October 1970) has tended to overshadow the remainder of the artist's highly prolific and complex final decade. Overlooked in this narrative is Guston's relationship with artists and institutions in Boston. He was employed as a visiting lecturer at Boston University between 1973-78, and found a collegiate atmosphere in the city among Boston Expressionist painters, who like him made use of a representational language that delved into Old Master techniques and addressed Jewish spiritual and cultural themes.

This talk will focus on Guston’s 1974 exhibition at Boston University, his first since the Marlborough Gallery show and also his first following his final, important visit to Italy in 1970-1. This exhibition showcased the importance of Guston's encounter with trecento and quattrocento fresco cycles seen in Italy, and provides a new perspective on the motivations for his later practice, which was sustained and supported by his relationship with Boston's artistic culture.

Following Dr. Street’s lecture, Boston University School of Visual Arts Associate Professor Dana Clancy will join him on stage for an open conversation. Drawing from her research Clancy will provide unique insights into Guston’s time at BU, his influence on the Boston art scene, and the broader context of his artistic legacy.

About Dr. Ben Street

Dr. Ben Street is an art historian, educator and the author of numerous books, including "How to Enjoy Art" (Yale, 2021) and the award-winning children's book "How to be an Art Rebel" (Thames and Hudson, 2021). His 2024 doctoral thesis, at the University of East Anglia, UK, was on Philip Guston's late work and its engagement with historical Italian art. He has been a lecturer and educator for the National Gallery, Tate, Dulwich Picture Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and is a contributing writer to Art Review, Apollo and the Times Literary Supplement.

This event is supported by the Jewish Cultural Endowment at Boston University.