ART CITIES: N.York-Robert Mangold

Since the 1950s, Robert Mangold has explored the interplay of line and color across surfaces of varying shapes, sizes, and dimensions. Dedicated to abstraction as a form of expression, he has employed a consistent geometric language to create a diverse body of paintings and works on paper. Over the course of his career, Mangold has continually refined his methods of applying paint, initially working on plywood and masonite, and transitioning to stretched canvas in 1968.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Pace Gallery Archive

In his latest exhibition, “Pentagons and Folded Space”, Robert Mangold unveils a striking new body of work—his most ambitious since the early 1990s. On view are a series of paintings, including three commanding multi-panel compositions, and a set of works on paper created between 2022 and 2024. Taken together, these pieces reaffirm Mangold’s status as one of the most quietly radical figures in American painting. Since emerging in the 1960s alongside figures like Sol LeWitt, Robert Ryman, and his wife Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Mangold has carved out a singular space in the landscape of Minimalism and Conceptualism. But unlike many of his contemporaries, his approach to geometric abstraction has never been purely analytical. Instead, it carries a visual poise and emotional restraint that allow color, shape, and line to become expressive elements in their own right. At the heart of “Pentagons and Folded Space” is Mangold’s continued exploration of how painting can operate in and beyond the picture plane. His shaped canvases—often subtly asymmetrical and composed of multiple panels—suggest a dynamic relationship between form and space. The exhibition’s namesake pentagonal structures bend and fold across broad fields of color, evoking a sense of movement that defies the stillness typically associated with hard-edge abstraction. One of the most arresting works in the show is “Four Pentagons” (2022), a large-scale, four-panel painting on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s a rare opportunity to see Mangold working at such a monumental scale, and the piece anchors the exhibition with a commanding physical presence. Each panel contributes to a larger whole, yet retains its own internal rhythm—a balance between cohesion and autonomy that has long been a hallmark of Mangold’s aesthetic. The newest works on view build upon themes introduced in his 2022 exhibition at Pace Gallery in New York, while also looking back to foundational concerns in his practice. There’s a palpable sense of continuity here: a dialogue between past and present, between the early shaped works of the 1960s and these latest investigations into folded forms and multidimensional space. The canvases that make up “Three Pentagons” (2023) are more compact and immediately legible as discrete shapes. Unlike some of Mangold’s larger, more sculptural works, these pieces emphasize surface nuance over physical volume. Their tension lies not in form alone, but in the varied permeability of their painted planes and the shifting depths they suggest. Together, these three panels form a quiet study in optical tension and material variation—an exploration of how subtle shifts in surface treatment can alter our perception of space within abstraction. Accompanying the paintings are a series of works on paper, all completed in 2024. These more intimate pieces offer insight into Mangold’s process, serving as both studies and stand-alone meditations on abstraction. They bring viewers closer to the artist’s hand, revealing the quiet rigor and precision that underpins each of his painted forms. What emerges from the exhibition is not simply a new series, but a culmination—a body of work that synthesizes decades of experimentation with fresh clarity. Mangold continues to expand the language of painting without ever abandoning its essential elements. In doing so, he reminds us that the most radical gestures are often the most restrained.

Photo: Robert Mangold, Divided Image, 2024, acrylic and black pencil on canvas, 35-3/4″ × 36″ (90.8 cm × 91.4 cm), © Robert Mangold, Courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery

Info: Pace Gallery, 540 West 25th Street, New York, NY, USA, Duration: 9/5-15/8/2025, Days & Hours: Mon-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:00-16:00, www.pacegallery.com/