Rooted in Abstract Expressionism

November 19 - January 16, 2016

Denise Bibro Fine Art, in Chelsea, NYC is pleased to announce Rooted in Abstract Expressionism, November 19 – December 19, a charged exhibition emphasizing the spontaneity and improvisation of what was once considered a radical direction in modern art and now is a well-established movement that continues to influence current artists today. This exhibition features multi-media works by 19 eclectic artists, all showcasing a unique vision entrenched in the gestural processes that were unearthed and celebrated in the peak period of Abstract Expressionism from the forties until the late fifties and early sixties.

Starting in the 1940’s as an early vanguard movement, Abstract Expressionism became the accepted term for artists that rigorously attacked their canvas with gestural immediacy according the highest importance to the process. Artists such as Franz Kline, De Kooning, and Jackson Pollock are some of the Titans of the day. Above all, the movement was one of painters; these figurative painters of the 1930’s that had experienced The Great Depression eventually committed themselves to expression through abstraction. In Critic Harold Rosenberg’s essay “The American Action Painters”, the act of painting is the underlying impulse for the mode of creation, therefore “extinguishing the object.” This, what was once, an unappreciated and rejected movement has become not only a part of Art History but continues to be a part of the creation of art. Contrasting the color field painters of the likes of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, Abstract Expressionism combines the hand and the experience as one event. “The big moment came when it was decided to paint…just to paint.”

This exhibition is comprised of artists that were influenced by previously mentioned titans and who worked at the same time as them during the peak of the movement. Others in this exhibition are second and further generations of artists who work in the abstract expressionist mode. Artists such as John Hultburg and Yvonne Thomas knew many of the first Abstract Expressionists and worked and socialized in their circles. Hultberg was represented by Martha Jackson who was a substantial, progressive dealer of her time. Jackson exhibited the works of other artists such as Motherwell, Sam Francis, Karl Appel in addition to Hultberg. Hultberg’s works can be found in major museum collections. Yvonne Thomas worked in the midst of this circle and did outstanding works. Although few women were able to get the same recognition of the men previously mentioned, their work as well many other women were certainly as good as many of their male counterparts. Thomas was part of the, now, famous School of The Artist which was conducted by Motherwell, Rothko, Newman, Baziotes, Hare to name a few. She worked with Motherwell for a good part of a year. Thomas knew Hans Hoffman, a proponent of modern art, and was influenced by his ideas and use of color and form. Lee Krasner, another great artist, and so many others worked in the same circle. Jan Wunderman whose work is also included in the exhibition was influenced by all of these factors and proponents during the same period. Each artist in this exhibition continues the journey of depicting personal experience through abstraction.

Artists: John Beardman, Gordon Boardman, Jason A. Cina, Janet Goddard, Nikki Geula, Mildred Hermann, John Hultberg, Don Kimes, Charles Olson, Ellen Paxson, Barbara Schaefer, Joseph Stefanelli, Jeff Sundheim, Yvonne Thomas, Francine Tint, Ateet Tuli, Jesse Lee Wilson, James Woodruff, and Jan Wunderman.