Nothing and Everything: Seven Artists, 1947–1962

Nothing and Everything examines the synergistic relationship between artists and composers living in New York City between the end of World War II and the early 1960s. It features seven artists and composers―Louise Bourgeois, John Cage, Morton Feldman, Philip Guston, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell and David Smith―all of whom pushed the boundaries of their respective mediums to new realms of abstraction. Part of a larger coterie of creative individuals who shared an ethos, they naturally sought each other out, socializing, exhibiting and supporting each other’s ideas despite negative press and public indifference. Paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings by the artists are contextualized by a selection of musical scores and ephemera: Cage’s “Lecture on Nothing,” his sketches for Williams Mix, Music for Piano and Aria; and Feldman’s finished scores for Projection I, Intersection 4 and Extension 4.