In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O’Hara and American Art examined the influence of the poet and critic on art of the 1950s and 1960s. One of the most celebrated poets of his generation, O’Hara was also a central figure in the New York art world of the time, serving as a curator of painting and sculpture at MOMA for six years until his death. Featuring more than one hundred works by twenty-six artists, all linked to O’Hara in some way.
In contrast to prevailing accounts of 1950s and 1960s American art, which foreground the Abstract Expressionist and Pop Art movements of this time, this exhibition featured a range of works reflecting O’Hara’s diverse network and tastes. In Memory of My Feelings thus included canonical figures from these movements like Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Franz Kline, and Jasper Johns, as well as less easily categorizable artists like Alice Neel, Philip Guston, and Joe Brainard.
In Memory of My Feelings traveled to the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and The Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York.
The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue.
In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O’Hara and American Art was organized by Russell Ferguson, Editor, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.