Hammersley alternated back and forth between freewheeling modernism and utilizing a kind of scientific methodology. Often he broke his painting process down into increments and within those increments let himself chose. Like a scientist, he realized that phenomena happen within an ecosystem but cannot be studied that way, rather the wholes must be broken into discrete parts. A moderated conversation with exhibition curator James Glisson, PhD and Joseph Traugott, PhD
Frederick Hammersley: To Paint without Thinking programing provided with support from the Frederick Hammersley Foundation and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.
Image : Frederick Hammersley, Tango, 1979, oil on linen, 48 × 48 in. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of the Frederick Hammersley Foundation, 2016 (2016.12) Photo by Blair Clark © Frederick Hammersley Foundation