KENNETH YOUNG | Untitled

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

This work is in very good condition overall. The canvas is unlined and slightly toned. There are several scattered non-obtrusive accretions to the surface of the canvas. There are a few variations and pulls to the surface of the canvas due to the artist's choice of medium. Under close inspection, there are some faint signs of handling to the turning edges of the canvas. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kenneth Victor Young (1933-2017) had a far-reaching career as an artist, teacher, and museum professional. His early art education and teaching experience was in Louisville, Kentucky; Indiana University; and the University of Hawaii. He was an instructor at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, and worked for three decades as an exhibition designer for the Smithsonian Institution.  

Young's artistic philosophy was to bring order out of chaos. As such, he made sense of the oft times pandemonium that is life through art. For more than 40 years, his artworks have been shown in group and solo exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world. His one-man show at the Corcoran Gallery in 1973-74 solidified his place as a significant Washington Color School painter. Young's work is housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection. It was included in the museum's traveling exhibition during 2015 and the accompanying catalogue African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, published by Skira/Rizzoli. 

 

Several never-before-exhibited paintings were included in The Language of Abstraction: Ed Clark, Richard W. Franklin, and Kenneth Young, an exhibition at the University of Maryland University College in 2018. “As evidenced by works in this exhibition, Young's paintings of the 1960s and early 1970s show rich and varied palettes and his predilection for orb-shaped motifs,” writes Virginia K. Adams, Ph.D., in her essay for the catalogue. “He often painted on the floor, pouring acrylic paint onto unprimed canvas and diluting it with water to make it flow and become absorbed in unpredictable patterns. Young sometimes used an airbrush to soften edges, which gave his orbs the appearance of floating. However, some later paintings—notably an untitled work (2000) and Blue Nile River (2010)—offer evidence of a turn to landscape.”

 

Young currently has a piece, Red Dance (1970) on permanent display at the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. The painting first gained attention when it was featured in “Black Art in America,” a 1970 feature written by Barbara Rose for Art in America. The article paired Young’s work with that of other young African American artists whom she deemed to show “special promise.” His works are on view in the renovated Corcoran Gallery of Art and in several upcoming museum exhibitions, including a solo show at the Katzen Arts Center, American University in early 2019.