DC Three: Davis, Downing, Mehring

The Washington Color School's second-generation—Gene Davis, Thomas Downing, and Howard Mehring—marks a decisive shift in postwar American abstraction. This rigorous examination demonstrates how their innovative manipulation of hard-edge forms and systematic color relationships articulated a sophisticated critique of Abstract Expressionism's gestural hegemony and established Washington as a vital center for artistic innovation during the 1960s. Through careful analysis of paradigmatic works like Davis's hypnotic Hive (1969), Downing's Midnight Blue (1963), and Mehring’s Spring Is (1963), the publication positions these artists' collective achievement as a crucial intervention in mid-century American painting's negotiation of systematic and intuitive approaches to color and composition.

Published by Yares Art, New York, 2022

Essay by Alex Grimley

Designed by Tim Laun and Natalie Wedeking

Softcover, fully illustrated, 88 pages

_{© Gene Davis / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY; © Thomas Downing; © Howard Mehring}