A celebration of the work of R.B. Kitaj…

One of the most significant painters of the post-war period, R.B. Kitaj (1932–2007), is now being exhibited concurrently at the Jewish Museum London and Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.

The exhibition at Pallant House Gallery, subtitled ‘Analyst for Our Time’, features over 70 paintings, sketches and prints presenting an overview of all periods of Kitaj’s extensive work from the 1960s to his death in 2007. The exhibition at the Jewish Museum London, subtitled ‘The Art of Identity’ features around 20 works and will focus on how Kitaj explored and expressed his ‘Jewishness’.

The presentation of the exhibition over the two venues will enable different facets of Kitaj’s identity to be explored in depth for the first time in the UK. Both venues share links to the artist – Kitaj’s London studio was designed by the American architect M.J. Long, whose practice, Long & Kentish, also designed the extensions to Pallant House Gallery and refurbishment of the Jewish Museum London.

For Kitaj, art was a medium of emotional and intellectual exploration. An avid collector of books, his work frequently referenced themes and motifs in intellectual history and literature.

The exhibition at Pallant House Gallery, subtitled ‘Analyst for Our Time’, features over 70 major paintings, sketches and prints presenting an overview of all periods of Kitaj’s extensive oeuvre from the 1960s to his death in 2007.  It runs through 16th June 2013.