Lorna Halper: The Space Between Opens

The work of Black Mountain artist Lorna Halper (1924- ) will be featured in a solo exhibition at the Asheville Art Museum. Evident in her earliest work is the indelible influence of Josef Albers. She went on to develop a highly unique approach that combined the principles of Albers's teaching with her own individualized style. Adept in a wide variety of media including drawing, sculpture and painting, Halper's work displays a masterful exploration of the descriptive qualities of line as well as a thoughtful examination of the relationship of line to the space between, echoing Albers's directive to "see things in context."

Born in New York City in 1924, Halper began her studies at Columbia University. In 1945, she enrolled at Black Mountain College and remained there through the spring of 1948. At Black Mountain College, she studied with Josef Albers, Fannie Hillsmith, Robert Motherwell and Ilya Bolotowsky. While there, she formed deep and lasting friendships with students Ruth Asawa, Ray Johnson, Oli Sihvonen and others. She married a former student and member of the faculty, Tasker Howard. At the end of the 1948 spring semester, Lorna and Tasker moved to New York where she worked for Amerika House. After Tasker's early death she remarried novelist and critic Albert Halper. She currently resides in Pawling, New York. An exhibition publication will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop.