A Veteran of the New York School on Mixing Abstract Art and Antiques in Her Gallery in Hyperallergic

Iconic gallerist Anita Shapolsky talks with contemporary painter, Denise Carvalho, about what makes a good exhibition.

By Denise Carvalho, June 5, 2018

Anita Shapolsky has been art-gripped since she was in college. An avid traveler, she began exploring ancient art before delving into American art. She has many interests, is a hat lover, was a belly dancer, had pet monkeys, and still enjoys Metaxa Brandy. Joie de vivre is what you feel being next to her. Her lively personality and cultivated knowledge of art is an inspiration to younger generations who have worked with her over the years.

As I walked down 65th Street towards Third Avenue in Manhattan, my eyes spotted the striking red gate of the Anita Shapolsky Gallery. I was welcomed by her assistant, Eve, and immediately introduced to Anita, who broke the ice asking if I wanted some tea. My eyes moved along the brick walls, on which hung Ernest Briggs’s vibrant and diverse abstract expressionist paintings. The gallery space is quite different from her earlier gallery in SoHo, which had seventeen foot ceilings and a lower level basement area. The current gallery has multileveled ceilings with uniquely designed rooms, brick and concrete walls on which distinct works are showcased.

The home-like space creates a dynamic sense of warmth. Anita Shapolsky has been collecting ancient art from Greece and objects from Asia, which are integrated with the paintings and sculptures she exhibits, giving her clients an art historical context for contemporary work. In the garden on the ground floor, a large Buddha made from a tree trunk shares the natural habitat with Peter Agostini’s bronze and David Hayes’s sculpture. On the second floor, one can see a nineteenth century American couch, a Persian rug, Indian and Japanese wall pieces, and a Chinese table amongst three large paintings by Ernest Briggs. After seeing this exhibition, I was stimulated by its emphasis on storytelling that speaks to a museum quality that is rare in today’s commercial gallery spaces.

When I came to visit Anita for the second time, she had a Nigerian artist, a Prince, who had heard about her and came to see the current exhibition. An emerging young artist, whose large paintings were shown at several galleries in the United States, he was greatly impressed. She referred him to her grandson, Ed Zipco, who has several galleries with younger artists under the name Superchief. Her connection with people of all walks of life is characteristic of her lively and inquisitive personality. A mother, a former teacher, and union leader, she has an uncommon history compared to today’s more entrepreneurial gallerists.  After our meetings, her probing into my work, I was invited to show in the gallery’s summer exhibition. She is generous and curious and took the lead, diving right into our conversation.

*    *    *

Anita Shapolsky: There was an empty space on the third floor at 99 Spring St., and I decided to open a gallery with no prior experience. The first year it was very successful because all my friends and family bought the art. From then on, I was on my own. By the second year, I was looking for new artists to represent, but soon I found out that an untested gallery was not attractive for established artists. My break came when somebody told me about Martha Jackson Gallery’s artists. David Anderson, Jackson’s son, had a storage space on West 58th Street Street. After Jackson’s death, these artists were anxious to be represented by a gallery. I was given all of their information and I invited them to join my gallery. My shows began attracting many knowledgeable clients, including Dorothy Miller. Then, the gallery moved to the first floor and basement space of the building, and the gallery took off. Many recognized the quality of the artists I was representing and an array of established abstract artists came to me, including Claire Falkenstein (who insisted on telling me she wasn’t Jewish), Herman Cherry, John Hultberg, Norman Bluhm, Peter Agostini, and Philip Pavia, among others, whose works I sold. Many of these artists I still represent today.

Denise Carvalho: You held on to abstraction when other galleries were showing Minimalism, Pop Art, Hyper-realism, Neo-expressionism, and conceptual art. What attracted you to abstract art?

AS: I grew up with abstract art. The artists I represented were not young when they were exhibiting with me, which is a contrast to today’s young and untested emerging artists. Most of my artists had been in World War II and were educated under the GI Bill which subsidized them to study, travel, and exhibit in Europe. The older artists had more life experience and knowledge; many of them were art professors, philosophers, writers, and poets. In those days, artists did not have to be college graduates to teach art. Today, they need at least a graduate degree, and, there are, believe it or not, Ph.D. programs in painting. Abstract art resounded to me, and still does. There was emotion in this art. These artists listened to jazz, believed in psychology (Freudian), were well-read, experimental, and had a sense of adventure and inquiry. They were more communal, supportive of each other, and had The Club on 8th Street, which held discussions, and the Stable Gallery that gave them shows.

DC: It seems there is a renewal of abstract art today. How do you perceive the current world of abstract art?

AS: Abstract art is always evolving. It still resonates with artists, but most abstract art today doesn’t appear to come from the soul. It is seen more as a gestural technique, more mechanical, more fleeting, more frivolous, and not the result of inner struggle and emotional search. The art market demonstrates that abstract art is still in the forefront of art sales, with Pollock, de Kooning, Rothko, Still, Motherwell, all first-generation abstract artists, commanding high prices. My gallery continues to support this art by focusing on second-generation abstract artists, who the auction houses are now selling well because of the dearth of good art of the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. The second generation of abstract artists had a strong affinity with the first generation since they showed together, knew each other, and learned from each other in their discussions at The Club and through the art magazine “It Is.” They shared their philosophies and experiences. Neither generation wanted to be political or sociological; instead, they chose to focus on the beauty of nature, of life, as well as their inner anxieties and different levels of consciousness. Many young artists are not interested in abstraction – perhaps they cannot think in abstract terms or they are much more interested in fantasy.

DC: It is interesting how earlier generations of artists did more than just their artwork, some of them were painters, poets, philosophers, and critical thinkers. Tell me about an important exhibition in which you brought together some of these interests.

AS: I am very much a supporter of the interaction with all arts. I showed “The Writer’s Brush,” based on the book by Donald Friedman, with paintings and drawings by celebrated writers, which was televised by CBS Sunday in 2006. Amongst them were William Saroyan, Tennessee Williams, Clifford Odets, William Butler Yates (the only Yates in America), Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Simic, Mark Strand, Kurt Vonnegut, Marine Hong Kingston, Derek Walcott, Allen Ginsberg, Aldous Huxsley (who was legally blind), Amiri Baraka, and many, many others.

DC: What are some interesting experiences regarding your gallery and your artists?

AS: Yvonne Thomas was having a video done, and became upset because the veins in her hands were showing. She wanted to redo the entire film. John Hultberg would only come to see his own art and always wore sunglasses. Over the years we had many happenings, including an art trapeze act as part of a wall sculpture exhibit. The female trapeze artists were wearing nylon suits you could see through. It was reviewed by the New Yorker. We also had many jazz events and poetry readings. Many of my painters were difficult people to work with, as was Herman Cherry and Peter Agustini. When an art reviewer would come in, they would insult them and say, “We don’t need to be reviewed.” They would also sit next to the telephone and rudely interrupt the phone calls from art magazines so they would stop bothering them.

DC: What about marginalized artists at the time? Did you represent them?

AS: We showed women along with their male counterparts over the years. The women artists I showed were Dorothy Dehner, Yvonne Thomas, Claire Falkenstein, Buffie Johnson, Mary Abbott, Louise Bourgeois, Louise Nevelson, Grace Hartigan, Elaine de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and others too numerous to name. In the fifties, Betty Parsons Gallery tried to show women and men together; the men removed their works from the gallery and went down the hall to the Sidney Janis Gallery. I was also one of the first American galleries to show Latin American and African American artists. Amongst my Latino artists were Agustin Fernandez and Mario Bencomo, both from Cuba, Fernando de Szyszlo from Peru, Pérez Celis from Argentina, José Luis Cuevas from Mexico, and the Venezuelan Oswald Vigas. The African American artists I exhibited were Herbert Gentry, Joe Overstreet, Emilio Cruz, Thomas Sills, Ed Clark, Betty Blayton, and Beauford Delany, among others.

DC: Tell me about your current show, “Ernest Briggs: Four Decades of Abstract Expressionism.”

AS: This show focuses on four decades of Ernest Briggs paintings. He was a second-generation abstract expressionist, originally from Northern California. He was a student and friend of Clyfford Still. Briggs came to New York in 1953 and soon was represented by Stable Gallery. He was later included in the 1956 show of young artists that Dorothy Miller curated at MoMA. He died in 1984 at a young age from stomach cancer. Now he is regarded as an important second generation artist. I never met him, but other artists told me about his work, and I started showing him and selling very well. I represent his estate and the rebirth of interest in his work is continuing to revitalize the abstract art world.

DC: What is the role of your foundation in Pennsylvania?

AS: We purchased a non-functioning, 1849 Presbyterian church (10,000 square feet), in the charming town of Jim Thorpe in 1985. It needed work, but it had a feeling of warmth. There are Tiffany and Lafarge windows, two hand-carved staircases, and upper- and lower-level areas for art storage. It is now called the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation (A.S. Art Foundation). We are only open on weekends from Memorial Day through September, due to the great expense of heating such a huge building. Much of my art collection is stored there. We exhibit our collection of abstract artist and younger artists from all areas of the country. We work with the local university and museums. Our collection of abstract art surpasses any museum collection in the area. In July, we will be having an exhibition of younger, exciting artists from Superchief gallery, located in Ridgewood, Queens. The foundation serves a need in a deprived cultural area. Many of the locals have never been to a museum or even to New York City, which is less than two hours away. We have had art classes for children, which encourages their parents to visit the foundation and see good art. A much appreciated exhibit several years ago of work by Briggs, titled “Motorcycles and Large Paintings,” brought in hundreds of people. The foundation is appreciated by artists who want their work to be shown. It is also a testing ground for me to explore new talent.

DC: What are your plans for the upcoming shows? And how do you envision abstract art in a global art world?

AS: My upcoming show for the summer is called “Different Strokes,” and includes both younger and older abstract artists. The Fall show will be a very special exhibit, very different from what I have done before, a real blockbuster. It will be called “Super Bodies,” focusing on different readings of the body, realistic and abstract. We will have a Buddha, an antique gold-embroidered Greek robe, and other surprises. During the Body show, there will be a lecture by the group Compassion & Choices. They work toward changing the laws that forbid euthanasia, allowing terminally ill people to die with dignity. I find that important. I will continue exhibiting abstract art of underappreciated artists and continue to educate the public. Abstract art has been produced in Latin America, Asia and Africa, often encompassing more traditional idioms. But there is a revitalized use of different technologies and materials today.

As we were wrapping up, the surprising Anita asked me if I wanted to try her vape, a gift from her grandson. That on top of the wine we had been drinking pleasantly concluded the interview.

Different Strokes

“DIFFERENT STROKES”

SUMMER 2018

June 21 – September 18

As the long, grey months of winter finally melt away, one longs for yellow daffodils, a warm breeze, and the sun’s triumphant return. The Anita Shapolsky Gallery’s summer exhibition, “Different Strokes”, seeks to fill this longing by bringing together six different artists whose works all capture the vibrancy of the season. Distinct, dynamic, colorful brushstrokes permeate each piece, but each artist uses different strokes to convey their own personal visual philosophies.

Denise Carvalho, Detours, 2018, oil and collage on canvas, 40 x 38

Denise Carvalho, Detours, 2018, collage and oil on canvas, 40″ x 38″

DENISE CARVALHO

is a Brazilian-born artist who draws inspiration from various philosophies such as Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction, Carl Jung’s collective unconscious, Wassily Kandinsky’s concept of synesthesia, and El Lissitzki’s prouns. Her paintings attempt to expand geometric forms into visual codes beyond language, using concepts of excess and restriction, order and chaos. Carvalho participated in the Florence Biennale in 2000 and has had a solo exhibition at the Abney Gallery and the Jadite Gallery in New York City.

Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Umatilla, 1959, oil on canvas, 59″ x 87″

AMARANTH EHRENHALT

is an extremely prolific second generation abstract expressionist. Although part of the New York School, she spent most of her career in Paris, where she met, socialized, and exhibited with artists such as Seymour Boardman, Joan Mitchell, Alberto Giacometti, and Sonia Delaunay. She has worked with a variety of media, producing paintings, sculpture, mosaics, ceramics, watercolors, tapestries, scarves, and prints. The titles of her paintings often refer to specific memories, which she expresses with dynamic, interactive, and bold brushstrokes. Ehrenhalt has taken part in multiple exhibitions at the Anita Shapolsky Gallery. She has had solo shows in Paris, New York, and Los Angeles and has pieces in collections at the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, the National Foundation of Contemporary Art in Paris, and the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C..

Lorna Ritz, Peonies, 2016, oil on canvas, 20″ x 16″

LORNA RITZ

creates abstract paintings using seasonal color combinations that occur in natural landscapes coupled with the aesthetics of what she refers to as her own “internal landscape.” An improvisational artist, she responds to the rhythms, harmonies, synchronizations, and counterpoints that rise up during the creative process, letting the paint realize the emotion, spirit, soul, and memory found in these landscapes. Her recent solo exhibitions were held at the Brown Fine Arts Center, the Augusta Savage Gallery, and the Contemporary Art Museum at the University of Massachusetts.

Ce Roser, Red Letter Day, 1987, oil on canvas, 72″ x 54″

CE ROSER

transforms memories and emotions into a visual vocabulary she describes as “a surge of energy, peaks of color, a world of fluctuation and vicissitudes.” Her brushstrokes are varied – sometimes explosive, sometimes sweeping, sometimes delicate – creating a visual poetic adventure. She has exhibited internationally at numerous galleries and museums. Her work is included in collections at the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Marc Van Cauwenbergh, Cloud, 2017, oil on linen, 70″ x 50″

MARC VAN CAUWENBERGH

is originally from a small city in Belgium, however, he now lives and works in New York City. His broad, dynamic brushstrokes and lush, bright colors reflect the shifting movements of bodies within the urban landscape. Van Cauwenbergh explores this urban chaos and the increasing fragmentation of human identity and communication in the contemporary world. As a bridge to his Flemish origins and sensibility, he uses Belgian linen almost exclusively. Van Cauwenbergh has exhibited internationally since 1984, with several one man shows in New York and Belgium.

Alison Weld, Inner Overture 2, 2018, oil on canvas, 50″ x 54″

ALISON WELD

describes her paintings as metaphors for light: the light of the sun and the light of the mind. Her studio, located in a hayfield in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, is flooded with light, which she captures to create an atmosphere of soulfulness, spirituality, and ethereality in her abstract paintings. Weld has shown at both the Anita Shapolsky Gallery and the A.S. Art Foundation, the Everson Museum of Art, the Jersey City Museum, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, and many others.

Ernest Briggs

ERNEST BRIGGS | Four Decades of Abstract Expressionism

April 19 – June 15

Ernest Briggs, Untitled, 1959, oil on canvas, 82″ x 74″

Ernest Briggs, Untitled, 1950, oil on canvas, 72″ x 68″

ERNEST BRIGGS | Four Decades of Abstract Expressionism

April 19 – June 15

Opening Reception: April 19, 6-8pm

Ernest Briggs, a second generation abstract expressionist painter, infused the 1950’s New York art scene with a multiplicity of compositional arrangements and painterly strategies. His work is distinguished by its bold, sensual use of color and its freedom from conventional forms. The canvases are monumental and impressive; they catch our eyes and trap us in their powerful intimate world.
The Anita Shapolsky Gallery invites you to experience Briggs’ world through our new exhibition, “Four Decades of Abstract Expressionism”, which celebrates his profound creations from the late 1940’s to the years leading up to his death in 1984.
Anita Shapolsky Gallery
152 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 11-6
Saturdays by Appointment

Ernest Briggs, Sketch for a Crucifixion, 1981, oil on canvas, 69.5″ x 67.5″

“FOCUS ON ABSTRACT GEMS”

Small Paintings, Sculptures, and Paper Pieces

February 13th – April 7th 2018

As winter is fully upon us, few people venture out to visit galleries. Our charming exhibit of small paintings, paper pieces, and sculptures are worth the trip. These works adhere to the gallery’s focus of abstract expressionist style, but offers an eclectic variety of genre, medium and eras. It exposes rare drawings, prints, photographs and paintings from some of the most significant artists of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This show follows our tradition of representing important artists from all backgrounds to the public. Seeing these wonderful works of art will certainly lift your spirit by invoking feelings of pleasure that we often seek.

 

The artists included are:
Karl Appel, Mario Bencomo, Seymour Boardman, Ernest Briggs, James Brooks, Lawrence Calcagno, Perez Célis, Herman Cherry, Beauford Delaney, Lynne Drexler, Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Augustin Fernandez, Sonia Gechtoff, Grace Hartigan, Burt Hasen, David Hayes, Carl Hecker, Mitchiko Itatani, Buffie Johnson, Andrey Klasson, Ibram Lassaw, Michael Loew, William Manning, Jeanne Miles, Leonard Nelson, Richards Ruben, William Saroyan, Ethel Schwabacher, Aaron Siskind, Keith Sonnier, Charmion Von Wiegand, and Wilfred Zogbaum.

Hours: Tuesday – Friday 11-6, Saturday by appointment

 

Anita Shapolsky Gallery
AS Art Foundation
152 East 65th Street
New York, NY 10065
p 212.452.1094
f 212.452.1096
[email protected]

Ernest Briggs, Mask, 1965, acrylic on canvas, 23″x 20.5″

 

Perez Celis, Aureolas, Miami 1999, mixed media, 28″ x 36″

 

Carl Hecker, Roadflower with Puddles, 2009, painted fiberglass, mild steel, etched glass, wood, 23″ x 15″ x 14″ on 3″x 11″ base

 

Michiko Itatani, Cosmic Wanderlust from HyperBaroque 13-K-35, 2013, gouache, ink , prismacolor on board, 10″ x 8″

 

Burt Hasen, Narcissus Hommage to Max Ernst, 1975, etching, 18″ x 24″

 

Buffie Johnson, Zero (Chaos), 1991, oil on canvas, 13.5″ x 15.5″

 

Beauford Delaney, Untitled (Ibiza), 1956, gouache and watercolor, 18″ x 12″

 

Mario Bencomo, Cavafy Poetry Series 1, 2008, acrylic and ink on joss paper, 11.5″ x 8.5″

 

William Saroyan, Feb 20 1963 SF, 1963, watercolor on paper, 19″ x 24.5″

 

Seymour Boardman, Untitled No. 22, 1962, oil on canvas, 21″ x 17″

 

Jeanne Miles, #115, 1985, platinum, gold leaf, and oil, 20″ x 28″

 

Keith Sonnier, CODE BA-0-BA, 2016, silkscreen print onto 1mm aluminum, 11″ x 11″

 

Leonard Nelson, Untitled, 1954, oil on canvas, 14″ x 22″

 

Michael Loew, Untitled (Still Life ML01), 1946, oil on canvas, 20.5″ x 24″

 

Sonia Gechtoff, Goya’s Ghost, 1998, acrylic on canvas, 35″ x 35″

 

William Manning, Monhegan Diary 1, 1994, graphite and oil on paper, 20″ x 17.5″

 

William Manning, Monhegan Series, 1996, collage, acrylic, and paper, 25″ x 30″

 

Ernest Briggs, Untitled-Orange Square 1, 1984, acrylic on paper, framed 17″ x 21″

 

Perez Celis, Chi-Quix, 1989, silkscreen on paper, 26″x 32″

 

Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Neilius 2, 1958, oil on canvas, 27″ x 22″

 

Michiko Itatani, Starry Night from Cosmic Encounter 16-K-24, 2016, gouache, ink, and prismacolor on board, 10″ x 8″

 

Buffie Johnson, Untitled, 1959, oil on canvas, 21.5″ x 17.75″

 

Burt Hasen, Flight, 1990, oil on canvas, 24″ x 30″

 

Ibram Lassaw, Gyre 2, 1995, bronze and various alloys, 12″ x 8″ x 11.5″

 

Wilfrid Zogbaum, Untitled, 1962, copper, 9″x 5″ x 8.5″
James Brooks, A, 1954, oil on canvas, 17″ x 23″

 

Seymour Boardman, Untitled, 1962, oil on canvas, 19″ x 20″

 

Herman Cherry, Cocoon 5, 1988, oil on canvas, 20″ x 15″

 

Lynne Drexler, Untitled, 1985, pencil on paper, 13.5″ x 16.75″

 

Charmion von Wiegand, Untitled, 1959, gouache on paper, 13″ x 10.5″

 

Grace Hartigan, Butterfly Woman, 16/30, 1988, silkscreen, 43″ x 40″

 

Aaron Siskind, New York, 1950, photograph, 24.5″ x 20.5″

 

Agustin Fernandez, Untitled, From the Series: Lacouriere-Frelaut H.C. 8/10, 1964, etching, 20″ x 14.5″

 

Ernest Briggs, Untitled, December 1958, oil on canvas, 31″ x 25″

 

Ernest Briggs, Untitled (“Dancing Girls”), 1960s, oil on canvas, 24″x 24″

 

Agustin Fernandez, Untitled, 1964, mixed media, 13″ x 10.24″

 

Michiko Itatani, Tree House Encounter from Cosmic Theater 16-K-15, 2016, gouache, ink, and prismacolor on board, 8″ x 8″

 

Buffie Johnson, Moon Goddess, 1949, oil on paper, 9″x 10.75″

 

Audrey Klassen, Untitled, 2015, ink on paper, 21.5″ x 17″

 

Mario Bencomo, Cavafy Poetry Series 1, 2008, acrylic and ink on joss paper, 11.5″ x 8.5″

 

Wilfrid Zogbaum, Windward Light, 1959, steel, 18″x 8″ x 48″
Ethel Schwabacher, Untitled (Woman Series), 1954, oil on canvas, 36″ x 30″

 

David Hayes, Small Vertical Model, 1986, painted welded steel, 8″ x 9″ x 17″

 

Lynne Drexler, Forest in Monhegan, 1985, pencil on paper, 13.5″ x 16.75″

 

Lawrence Calcagno, Untitled, 1971, watercolor, 20″ x 17″

 

Karel Appel, Untitled, 1969, lithograph, 28.5″ x 33.5″

 

Richards Ruben, Light in Dark, 1986, oil on canvas, 31″ x 23″

 

Agustin Fernandez, Untitled, From the Series: Lacouriere-Frelaut H.C. 8/10″, 1964, etching, 20″ x 14.5″