Anita Shapolsky Gallery, 152 East 65th Street, NYC

January 30, 2014 In Previous Exhibitions By Anita Shapolsky

The Expressive Edge of Paper: February 22 – April 26, 2014

Karel Appel, Mario Bencomo, Robert Blackburn, Seymour Boardman, Ilya Bolotowsky, Ernest Briggs, Lawrence Calcagno, Pérez Celis, Herman Cherry, Nassos Daphnis, Beauford Delaney, Michael Dominick, Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Claire Falkenstein, Agustín Fernández, Grace Hartigan, John Hultberg, Elaine Kurtz, Jack Larned, Joel Le Bow, William Manning, Clement Meadmore, Melissa Meyer, Henri Michaux, Jeanne Miles, Richards Ruben, Anne Ryan, William Saroyan, Kendall Shaw, Aaron Siskind, Nancy Steinson, Antoni Tàpies, and Petra Valentova.

The Anita Shapolsky Gallery is presenting a multi-faceted group of abstract paper works by twenty-seven artists we have exhibited over the years. Paper experimentation shows the dichotomy between planning aspects in art and free form automatic drawing. These works show great technical skill which bring the artists visions to life. The works give incredible insight into their diverse approaches and the timelessness of their art. The variety of pieces in this exhibit will be educational and exciting for viewers. The molten iron paintings by Michael Dominick, for example, result in gestural strokes and splashes, which create beautiful and unpredictable marks that not only scorch the surface but also burn down into the depths of the layered paper. The abstract photographs of Aaron Siskind evoke wonder at his ingenuity. Antoni Tàpies’s prints are a good introduction to his ideas for earthly paintings. Richards Ruben’s oil pastel paintings of Venetian walls on Kochi paper are ethereal. Agustin Fernandez’s exquisite prints done in Paris by Lacouriere et Frelaut evoke sensuality using mechanical parts (i.e. screws, pipes, etc.).

Beauford Delaney, Untitled (Ibiza), 1956, gouache and watercolor on paper, 17 7/8 x 11 13/16 in

Attachment Details Mario Bencomo, Torquemada series, Inquisition - Hoods, 2001, acrylic on paper, 11x14 in

Mario Bencomo, Torquemada series, Inquisition – Hoods, 2001, acrylic on paper, 11×14 in

Grace Hartigan, Untitled, lithograph, 1988, 37 1/2 x 29 1/2 in

Claire Falkenstein, Mandala #1, 1980, sugar lift etching, 35 x 23 in

Anne Ryan, Moon is a Flower III, nd, 23 x 17 in

Ilya Bolotowsky, Untitled, nd, 37 1/2 x 27 1/2 in

Nassos Daphnis, SS-2-78, 1978, acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 in

Lawrence Calcagno, Taos, 1982, mixed media, paper on canvas, 24 x 32 in

Perez Celis, Untitled (Buenos Aires), 1989, mixed media on paper, 27 x 36 in

Michael Dominick, Ramapo No. 2, 2013, mixed media/collage on plaster backing paper, 34 x 22 x 1.5 in

Michael Dominick, Ramapo No. 2, 2013, mixed media/collage on plaster backing paper, 34 x 22 x 1 1/2 in

Henri Michaux, Untitled, 1973, acrylic on paper, 22 x 14 3/4 in

Richards Ruben, Pink a Boob, 1988, mixed media on kochi paper, 30 x 42 in

Aaron Siskind, Lima 89 (Homage to F.K), 1975, photograph, 24 x 20 in

Petra Valentova, Clusters, 2012, watercolor/ink on paper, 34 x 32 in

Robert Blackburn, The Wood, 1953, lithograph, 27 x 32 in

Nassos Daphnis, 23-D-78, print, 30 x 22 in

Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Rejoice 2, nd, print, 28 X 20 in

William Manning, Manana West 18, 2005, 24 x 24 in

William Manning, Manana West 18, 2005, collage/acrylic on masonite, 24 x 24 in

Clement Meadmore, Split Ring 2D, 1972, silkscreen, 33 x 29 in

Jeanne Miles, Green Mandala, 1975, platinum, gold leaf, and oil on board, 20 x 20 in

Antoni Tapies, Relief Varnish, 1981, embossed gold, 35 x 46 in

Karl Appel, Series of 10: Moving in Blue, 1978, lithograph, 21 x 29 in

October 31, 2013 In Previous Exhibitions By Anita Shapolsky

TALL & Small: November 9 – February 11, 2014

In an increasingly cyber and dot.com world, Abstract Expressionism’s startlingly direct and personal way of communicating looks pretty good. This exhibition displays the use of various techniques, materials, and different artistic ideas of the second generation of abstractionists.

Seymour Boardman, Ilya Bolotowsky, Ernest Briggs, Lawrence Calcagno, Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Buffie Johnson, Albert Kotin, William Manning, Louise Nevelson, Joe Overstreet, Jeanne Reynal, Ethel Schwabacher, Nancy Steinson, Yvonne Thomas, and Wilfrid Zogbaum.

Seymour Boardman‘s work reduced complicated image to its essence through a simple play with basic color planes while the original background, color lines pierce, bend and twist the negative space. Ilya Bolotowsky’s visually ordered works reveal the influence of Piet Mondrian’s geometry. Ernest Briggs’s non-representational compositions of pure and emotional colors explode with inviting gesture to emerge in their powerful intimate world. Lawrence Calcagno with the use of linear brush strokes created meditative and colorful landscapes. Amaranth Ehrenhalt, an ‘action painter’, presents us with dynamic, colorful and playful works. Buffie Johnson represented existentialist work among Abstract Expressionists; her cosmic-like paintings convey her belief in the cycle of life with its eternal returns. Al Kotin’s phantasmagoric combination of color initiates an illusion of slowly rotating motion. William Manning’s pieces unfold in a way that is reminiscent of the Cubists ideas about fragmented vision. Louise Nevelson’s signature is a complex arrangements of abstract shapes enclosed in boxes. Joe Overstreet integrates painting with sculptural space using meaning-laden materials that reference both painting and the human condition. Jeanne Reynal through her “direct method” adapted the luminosity of ancient mosaics into abstract mosaic compositions. Ethel Schwabacher’s paintings combine automatism, introduced to her by Arshile Gorky, with abstract forms, referring to nature. Nancy Steinson’s sculptures add to the richness of the exhibition. Yvonne Thomas is best conveyed through a play of muted brushstrokes that transgress the substantiality of matter. Wilfrid Zogbaum’s dynamic steel structures bear a kinship to primordial ancestors.

Yvonne Thomas, Map Notes, o/c, 1965, 60 x 60 in

Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Ultimo, 2000, o/c, 45.5 x 35 in

Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Tumble I, o/c, 1989, 13 x 16 1/2 in

Seymour Boardman, Totem, o/c, 1959, 72 x 38 in

Seymour Boardman, Untitled, a/c, 1971, 12 x 17 in

Nancy Steinson, Novatio, steel, 1997, 92 x 14 x 14 in

Lawrence Calcagno, Untitled, w/c, 1956, 12 5/8 x 10 9/16 in

Lawrence Calcagno, Blue Painting, o/c, 1975, 52 x 48 in

Louise Nevelson, Untitled, painted wood, ND, not signed, 7 x 3 1/2 x 4 in

Louise Nevelson, Untitled, painted wood, ND, unsigned, 31 x 12 x 11.1/2 in

Louise Nevelson, Untitled, painted wood, ND, not signed, 31 x 12 x 11 1/2 in

Joe Overstreet, Meridian, oil on stainless steel cloth, 2003, 49 1/2 x 43 7/8 in

Joe Overstreet, Walnut Grove IV, oil on stainless steel cloth, 2002, 36 x 30 in

Jeanne Reynal, Vertical Sculpture, m/m and mosaic, 1959, 65 in tall

Jeanne Reynal, Untitled, mosaic, 1967, 22 1/2 x 30 in

Ilya Bolotowsky, Red, Blue, White Rectangles, a/c, 1973, 60 x 48 in

Ilya Bolotowsky, Plexi Multiple, plexiglass, 1975, 30 x 7 x 7 in

Ilya Bolotowsky, Plexi Multiple 1, plexiglass, 1975, 30 x 7 x 7 in

Ethel Schwabacher, Title Unknown (Woman Series), o/c, 1955, 30 x 36 in

Ethel Schwabacher, Warm Rain, o/c, 1959, 50 x 40 in

Wilfrid Zogbaum, Windward Light, steel, 1959, 18 x 8 x 48 in

Wilfrid Zogbaum, Untitled, copper, 1962, 9 x 5 x 8.5 in

Wilfrid Zogbaum, Untitled, copper, 1962, 9 x 5 x 8 1/2 in

Ernest Briggs, Untitled, o/c, 1982, 16 x 18 in

Ernest Briggs, Untitled, o/c, 1958, 94 x 69 1/2 in

Buffie Johson, Zero(Chaos), o/c, 1991, 13 1/2 x 15 1/2 in

Albert Kotin, White Painting, o/c, 1950s, 48 x 36 in

August 1, 2013 In Previous Exhibitions By Anita Shapolsky

Seymour Boardman “Personal Geometries”- Part II – 1970’s-2000’s: September 10 – November 2, 2013

No. 1, December 1984, Oil on canvas, 40″ x 60″

New York City – For over 60 years, Seymour Boardman had created an oeuvre unparalleled in Contemporary Art – from colorful and vivid large-scale Abstract Expressionist paintings to minimalist and uncluttered-styled paintings.

Seymour (Sy) Boardman “Personal Geometries” Part II will feature a comprehensive body of work spanning the 1970s’ to the 2000’s. Following part I bringing together Abstract Expressionist pieces created by the artist between the 1940’s and the 1960’s, this second part focuses more on Boardman’s evolution toward a more Minimalist style. In this work, pastel colors are progressively used over bright colors while uncluttered and square-shaped lines progressively prevail over mosaic-like paintings of the 1960’s. More than ever during the second period of his artistic career, Boardman’s work aims to define visual structure, often replying on sharply articulated geometric principles and shapes.

“I consider Sy the most intellectual of all the artists that I have ever exhibited” says gallery owner Anita Shapolsky, “His painting resonates like jazz, ever evolving, the transcendence of improvisation is content. He liked jagged, architectural phrases, and beginning a line without knowing where it would end”. This “geometric colorist” and “abstract illusionist” as he was called, contributed to the psychology of perception with the use of only one hand (the other was disabled by the war). His work has inspired many young artists by its complexities, use of oil pastels, colors and division of space.

Boardman counteracted with many artists and good friends of him such as Sam Francis, Robert Ryman, and Mark Rothko, as they all experienced crises of confidence. His work is included in many major public collections such as the Brooklyn Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Newark Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Norton Gallery in Palm Beach, Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico and many other collections.

Untitled 1990, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 30″ x 46″

Untitled, 1976, Acrylic on canvas, 12″ x 17″

Blue No.3, 1993, Oil on canvas, 34″ x 48″

Untitled No1., 1987, Oil on canvas, 44 1/2″ x 48 1/2″

Contact information: ashapolsky@nyc.rr.com / http://anitashapolskygallery.com
CATALOG AVAILABLE

Seymour Boardman, May 15 1960, Untitled, Oil on canvas 72 x 54 in

March 15, 2013 In Previous Exhibitions By Anita Shapolsky

Seymour (Sy) Boardman: “Personal Geometries” – Part I – 1940’s to 1960’s: March 23 – September 1, 2013

The Anita Shapolsky Gallery will present an exhibition of Seymour (Sy) Boardman:

“Personal Geometries”
Part I – 1940’s to 1960’s: March 23 – September 1, 2013
Part II – 1970’s to 2000’s: September 10 – November 2, 1013
All: Summer 2013 – A.S. Art Foundation

Seymour Boardman: “Personal Geometries” catalog is now available for order. Published 2013 by the Anita Shapolsky Gallery, “Personal Geometries” features a selection of Sy’s work throughout his life over 40 pages.
Price is $32 including S/H. Please call or email to order.

Seymour (Sy) Boardman’s (1921-2005) paintings were shaped by his responses to the major currents of twentieth century abstraction and the aesthetic turmoil of successive art movements of his time. Throughout his work, we observe a particular dynamic in his exploration of the potential vastness and all-inclusiveness of abstraction and his search for systematic and personal formal strategies to create definition and meaning. He established the primacy of his works’ defining visual structure, often relying on sharply articulated geometric principles and shapes, even as he affirmed the personal presence of the artist through subtle and nuanced means. Each series of works he created, indeed each work within these series, engages us in the efforts of an inquisitive visual intelligence exploring the balance between the immanence of absolute being and the artist’s personal act of bringing impersonal realities into view. The results are paintings with distinctive, frequently dramatic impact which suggest a sense of mystery and emotion, a personal statement which is often evocative rather than declarative.

Boardman majored in art at New York’s City College, but his plans were disrupted by World War II, from which he emerged without use of one arm and hand. He returned to painting, choosing to study in Paris from 1946 to 1949 at the École des Beaux Arts, the Académie de la Grand Chaumière, and the Atelier Fernand Leger. This sojourn was followed by a year in New York at the Art Students League and another year in Paris (1950), where he had his first solo exhibition at the Galérie Mai in 1951. When he returned to New York, Sy was inducted into the Martha Jackson Gallery, and remained with her until her death.

Sy worked over the years with patience and maturity, and did all the right things, and more. Sy and his good friends Sam Francis, Robert Ryman, Shirley Jaffe, and Richards Ruben, counteracted with each other as they experienced crises of confidence. Each artist took something from the other in their language of art.

Click on an image to scroll through a slideshow of selected works.