Emil Bisttram

Toward the Heavens exemplifies Emil Bisttram’s deft synthesis of abstract and representational forms. A founding member of the Transcendental Painting Group, which championed a non-representational and spiritual approach to painting, Bisttram referenced Transcendental ideas throughout his career, including in his later works. In Toward the Heavens, recognizable landscape elements are seen in the shape reminiscent of a mountain peak at the left of the composition, which is overlaid with leaf-like forms. Bisttram paired fine black lines with superimposed shapes, finding parallels in developments in European modernism, including the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Joan Miró. Major institutions have recognized the significance of Bisttram’s celestial-themed work; other examples can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, among others.