Thursday, July 28, 2016

Great Art of a Great Modern Era

Long Island Books: "New York School Abstract Expressionists: Artist's Choice by Artists"

Rose C.S. Slivka | December 14, 2000

"New York School Abstract
Expressionists: Artist's Choice by Artists"

Edited by Marika Herskovic
New York School Press, $95
Marika Herskovic, the editor and driving force behind the book "New York School Abstract Expressionists: Artist's Choice by Artists," may well have hauled in the most complete roundup of the many and varied painters and sculptors who created and defined the most adventurously American art movement of the 20th century.
This lavish book presents 265 artists in 393 pages, with no less than 172 full-page reproductions and statements by 86 artists.
The New York School movement was undoubtedly the most significant in the history of American art. Taking place in downtown New York where artists worked in neighboring studios during the post World War II boom, Abstract Expressionism received visibility in artist-organized exhibits beginning with the "9th Street Show" in 1951 and continuing uptown with the annual Stable Gallery shows until 1957.
The New York School was inhabited by a variety of yet-to-be-known makers and individual styles, yet all shared the brave new art world of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Mark Rothko.
The book documents not only those who made it and became world famous, but the many about whom, still, little is known. Yet they participated richly with their energy, work, and ideas in this tumultuous, generative period. The book represents them vividly, thereby ensuring that they will not be lost.
What most defined the time was its high camaraderie, a group spirit in downtown New York that had its genesis in the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression, when artists worked on government sponsored projects and murals in public spaces. The movement reached its peak in the late 1940s and early 1950s and has not been equaled since.


Ibram Lassaw Erinnys, 1954
All right reserved by the artists or by his delegates.
                                                 
How Old?
Published by the New York School Press, the book has been luxuriously printed on heavy coated stock. It contains installation shots of both the "9th Street Show," which took place in a rented loft, and the Stable Gallery on West 57th Street, together with replicas of announcements and lists of artists. The lists give ages and the numbers of times each artist showed as well as other statistical data and a complete index of artist participation in these events.
Having been around the scene at the time, I was amused to see that age is as prone to the manipulations of vanity among the men as legend would have it was among the women.
While many of the reproductions were supplied by the artists, their galleries, and collectors, an impressive number are photographs done for the book by Geoffrey Clements, who is treated as an artist in his own right, with a full-page photograph of himself and two pages of text.
This is on a par with the work of the incomparable Aaron Siskind, the photographer-collagist who influenced the painting of his time, particularly the work of Franz Kline. With two full-page reproductions, a statement from Siskind's own writings, plus a curriculum vitae including all his solo and group exhibits, the point of his importance is certainly made clear.
A member of the Artists Club, he was the only photographer whom the artists welcomed as a participant. Otherwise, the painters of that era considered photographers on a lower plane.
It comes as a fresh surprise to see how important the East End becomes as the place that harbored Action Painting, as Abstract Expressionism was also called by its foremost critic, Harold Rosenberg, who lived in New York and in Springs.
The list of those who lived and worked on the East End, many of whom still do, numbers 53.

All the books by Marika Herskovic/New York School Press are available at:

amazon.com


https://plus.google.com/+Newyorkschoolpresspub



Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Joe (Joseph) Stefanelli, American Abstract Expressionist

Joe (Joseph) Stefanelli, American Abstract Expressionist

Joe Stefanelli (born 1921) also known as Joseph J. Stefanelli belonged to the New York School Abstract Expressionist artists whose influence and artistic innovation by the 1950s had been recognized around the world. New York School Abstract Expressionism, represented by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and others became a leading art movement of the post-World War II era.







Joe Stefanelli-Abstract Expressionist

New York School action painter.



Joe Stefanelli, Untitled, 1951
Oil on canvas,25 x 30 1/8 inches
Exhibited in the "9th St." Sho, 1951



Joe Stefanelli, Wednesday, 1958
Oil on canvas, 50 x 60 inches



Joe (Joseph) Stefanelli, Whisper 1961
Oil on canvas 26 x 20 in



Joe (Joseph) Stefanelli, Once more, 1962,
Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 23 inches



Joe Stefanelli, Tucon painting #4, 1985
Acrylic on board 24 x 30 inches



Joe Stefanelli, Mythra Dialogue, 1988. 
Acrylic on canvas, 39 3/4 x 50 1/8 inches  



Joe Stefanelli, Bologna Attendants, 1989
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 inches


Joe Stefanelli is represented in the book:

https://plus.google.com/+Newyorkschoolpresspub


Sunday, July 17, 2016

Abstract Expressionism and New York City




Abstract Expressionism marked the beginning of New York City’s influence as the center of the western art world. 
The world of the Abstract Expressionist artists was firmly rooted in Lower Manhattan.
A walk along 8th Street would take you from the Waldorf Cafeteria, where penniless artists made “tomato soup” from the free hot water and ketchup; 
past the Hans Hofmann School of Fine artists founded by the painter of the same name; 
to The Club, 
a loft where lectures and heated arguments about art carried on late into the night. 
Jackson Pollock’s studio was on East 8th Street, 
Willem de Kooning’s Philip Guston’s, Albert Kotin's and most other pioneer New York School artists' studios were on East 10th. 
Most nights the "down town artists" could be found at the Cedar Street Tavern on University Place.  
Although the term "abstract expressionism" was first applied to American art in 1946 by the art critic Robert Coates, 
it had been first used in Germany in 1919 in the magazine Der Sturm, regarding German Expressionism. 
Alfred Barr was the first to use this term in 1929 in relation to works by Wassily Kandinsky. 

Paintings by the artists of the 9th St Show

  Marika Herskovic/Virtual Gallery



Abstract Expressionism and New York City



Abstract Expressionism marked the beginning of New York City’s influence as the center of the western art world. 
The world of the Abstract Expressionist artists was firmly rooted in Lower Manhattan.
A walk along 8th Street would take you from the Waldorf Cafeteria, where penniless artists made “tomato soup” from the free hot water and ketchup; 
past the Hans Hofmann School of Fine artists founded by the painter of the same name; 
to The Club, 
a loft where lectures and heated arguments about art carried on late into the night. 
Jackson Pollock’s studio was on East 8th Street, 
Willem de Kooning’s Philip Guston’s, Albert Kotin's and most other pioneer New York School artists' studios were on East 10th. 
Most nights the "down town artists" could be found at the Cedar Street Tavern on University Place.  
Although the term "abstract expressionism" was first applied to American art in 1946 by the art critic Robert Coates, 
it had been first used in Germany in 1919 in the magazine Der Sturm, regarding German Expressionism. 
Alfred Barr was the first to use this term in 1929 in relation to works by Wassily Kandinsky.

Paintings by the artists of the 9th St Show

 Virtual Gallery




 

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Fine Art Books ~New York School Press

The New York School Press publishing company is dedicated to the production of very fine art books. It is concerned primarily with the documentation of the unique American art of the postwar period. The books are printed by Cantz in Germany. Every effort is made to achieve exceptional quality and enduring value. The books are lavishly illustrated with hundreds of 9 x 12 inch full page color reproductions on acid free double coated heavy paper stock. The bindings are library quality.




 Reders's opinion:   Amazon.com
 "Almost Perfect-Very Important": Amazon.co
"Best and most Complete Study of  The NY School to date!":        ArtBusines.com opinion
  Artchive.com opinion   

 CHOICE CURRENT REVIEWS FOR ACADEMIC  LIBRARIES  February 2001:  "The book is unique; it can be used as a reference for artists' biographies, for exhibition documentation, or as the history of  a specific artistic movement. Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduates through faculty." Ed. by Marika Herskovic, ISBN: 0967799406  New York School Press, 2000. Hardcover with jacket, 12 x 9 inches,  176 full-page color art reproductions, printed in Germany,  393 pages, indexes. 265 artists are documented.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~



 OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC TITLE ~ CHOICE, 2003 "This excellent publication builds on the earlier [above] publication.
It has broadened the scope to include artists from throughout the US, 
rectified...omission of African American artists
...
and concentrated 
 on 88 artists...excellent layout and superb photographs. 
"Highly recommended"
 ~ CHOICE,
 CURRENT REVIEWS FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIES July/August 2003.



2005 WRITERS NOTES BOOK AWARD, April 19, 2005



"Herskovic overviews American abstract expressionism with this hefty volume of plates.
Beyond the names you'll immediately recognize (Pollack,  De Kooning, Gorky, etc.) this alphabetically arranged set takes a fair and complete look,
including commentary from the artists.... We like Kline's ideas on size and space and also when De Kooning says, "spiritually I am wherever my spirit allows me to be."
American Abstract should be a  fixture in libraries and the homes of the lovers of the form
."
 "Researchers will seek out this well designed selection."

 ~Library Journal August 2003.



Ed. by Marika Herskovic, ISBN: 0967799414. New York School Press 2003;Hardcover, 12x9 inches,372 pages, 176 full page color reproductions, printed in Germany. 

The book can be acquired at:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~





CHOICE CURRENT REVIEWS FOR ACADEMIC LIBRARIES, January 10, 2010

"Highly recommended. Libraries supporting both studio
 and art history programs at the lower undergraduate and above; general readers." ~ CHOICE 

Readers' opinion:
 It is an important contribution to the study of Abstract Expressionism. 58 painters and sculptors are featured. Each of these artists have 2 works shown (full page) one abstract and one figurative work and an artist's statement. The reproductions are excellent. There is also a Bio, and a listing of solo exhibitions and group exhibitions for each of these artists. An amazing amount of research and love went into this new production of the New York and Californian Schools abstract and figurative expressionism. You can see that these schools were actually a bonafide community of  artists. This 254 page book was sumptuously printed and has a 12 x 9 1/2 inch format. The book has a black cloth  binding and a handsome dust jacket with ALL the names of  the listed artists. This platinum dust-jacket has black and red lettering which pops-out and is a stunning tribute to the artists. Ed. by Marika Herskovic, ISBN: 0967799422 New York School Press, 2009. Hardcover with jacket, 12 x 9 inches, 116 full-page color art reproductions, printed in Germany,
 254 pages, indexes. 58 artists are documented.
 The book can be acquired at 



The book will demonstrates through 126 full page color reproductions that Albert Kotin belonged to the early generation of New York School Abstract Expressionist artists.

All the books by Marika Herskovic/New York School Press are available at:

amazon.com


https://plus.google.com/+Newyorkschoolpresspub