Sean Scully: The Shape of Ideas

An extraordinary retrospective of one of the leading abstract painters of our time, surveying the artist’s career from the early 1970s to the present

In a sustained exploration of the possibilities of abstraction, Sean Scully (b. 1945) has created a rich body of work throughout his 50-year career. Sean Scully: The Shape of Ideas sets his entire output within a detailed biographical framework, closely examining the relationship between the artist’s paintings and his lesser-known drawings, pastels, watercolors, and prints—areas of Scully’s production that are rarely considered together. At the heart of the book is an investigation of the development and reception of Scully’s work based on historical and contemporary reviews as well as extensive interviews with the artist. Featured contributions include a preface by Marla Price, author of Scully’s multivolume catalogue raisonné, and an essay by the poet and art critic Kelly Grovier on the unique contribution Scully has made to the history of abstraction. Published to coincide with the artist’s touring retrospective exhibition, this publication presents sumptuous illustrations and detailed accounts of his most significant bodies of work, offering new insight into his practice. It is an indispensable resource to understanding Scully’s wide-ranging oeuvre and his influential place in contemporary art history.

Published in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition Schedule:

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth 
(June–October 2021)

Philadelphia Museum of Art
(April 12–July 31, 2022)

Timothy Rub is the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Amanda Sroka is assistant curator of contemporary art, both at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.