ABOUT JULES I wrote a letter to Jules Olitski, as I wanted very much to show his work. He responded by inviting me to his island in New Hampshire. That summer, I went to New Hampshire, and Olitski sent someone to pick me up in a small boat. When I arrived at Bear Island, there was Olitski, a large man with soft eyes, holding a big glass of Scotch, at ten in the morning. I liked him immediately; he was a very warm and attractive man. He was just about to go to sleep during the day. His wife, Kristina, a young and beautiful Greek lady, welcomed us, and we went to the house. We talked for a while and had a beautiful lunch. Olitski didn’t go to sleep that day. Instead, we went to his studio. How interesting it was to me that most of the canvases were lying on the floor, as that’s where he painted them.They were thickly textured, and he covered the whole canvas in this way. This was the beginning of a new style for him, as the earlier works were much more minimal and painted very thinly. We met again for dinner, and then after dinner everybody went to sleep except Olitski and me. We stayed by the dinner table and talked—all night. We didn’t talk about art. We talked about Jewish literature, with which he was so familiar, as was I. I think this was the magic. Talk to an artist about any subject other than art, and he will love you. And that’s how my relationship with Jules Olitski began. We did a few shows in Scottsdale of his work. Olitski came with Kristina, and we made a great exhibition. Jules died in 2007. I love you, Jules Olitski.
—Riva Yares
123
