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Richard Anuszkiewicz

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Richard Anuszkiewicz
BornMay 23, 1930
Erie, Pennsylvania
DiedMay 19, 2020
NationalityAmerican
EducationCleveland Institute of Art,Yale University School of Art
MovementOp Art
Websitehttp://www.richardanuszkiewicz.com/

Richard Joseph Anuszkiewicz(/ˌɑːnəsˈkeɪvɪtʃ/;May 23, 1930 – May 19, 2020) was an Americanpainter,printmaker,andsculptor.[1]

Life and work

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Anuszkiewicz was born inErie,Pennsylvania, the son of Victoria (Jankowski) and Adam Anuszkiewicz, who worked in apaper mill.His parents werePolish immigrants.[2]He first studied art underJoseph Plavcanwhile still in high school, later describing him as his most significant influence.[3]Anuszkiewicz trained at theCleveland Institute of ArtinCleveland,Ohio(1948–1953), and then withJosef Albers[4]at theYale University School of ArtinNew Haven, Connecticut(1953–1955), where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts. While at Yale, Anuszkiewicz was roommates with a fellow abstract painter of Polish descent and a student of Albers,Julian Stanczak.[5]

He was one of the leading figures in theOp Artmovement during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.[6]Victor Vasarelyin France andBridget Rileyin England were his primary international counterparts. In 1964,Lifemagazine called him "one of the new wizards of Op".[7]While reflecting on a New York City gallery show of Anuszkiewicz's from 2000,New York Timesart criticHolland Cotterdescribed Anuszkiewicz's paintings: "The drama — and that feels like the right word — is in the subtle chemistry of complementary colors, which makes thegeometryglow as if light were leaking out from behind it. "[6]Anuszkiewicz exhibited at theVenice Biennale,Florence BiennaleandDocumenta,and his works are in permanent collections internationally. He was elected into theNational Academy of Designin 1992 as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1994.

Style

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U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson and U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright inspect "Squaring the Circle", a bright red 1963 painting by Richard Anuszkiewicz, at the 1965 White House Arts Festival.
U.S. PresidentLyndon Baines Johnsonand U.S. SenatorJ. William Fulbrightinspect "Squaring the Circle", a bright red 1963 painting by Richard Anuszkiewicz, at the 1965 White House Arts Festival.

Anuszkiewicz was concerned with the optical changes that occur when different high-intensity colors are applied to the same geometric configurations. Most of his work comprises visual investigations of formal structural and color effects, many of them nested square forms similar to the work of his mentorJosef Albers.In his series, "Homage to the Square", Albers experimented with juxtapositions of color, and Anuszkiewicz developed these concepts further. Anuszkiewicz continued to produce works in the Op Art style over the subsequent decades of his career.

In 1963, Anuszkiewicz summarized his approach to painting as: "My work is of an experimental nature and has centered on an investigation into the effects of complementary colors of full intensity when juxtaposed and the optical changes that occur as a result, and a study of the dynamic effect of the whole under changing conditions of light, and the effect of light on color."[8]

Selected collections holding works

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Grants and awards

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  • 1953: Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship
  • 1963: Charles of the Ritz Oil Painting Award
  • 1964: The Silvermine Guild Award for Oil Painting
  • 1977: Cleveland Arts Prize
  • 1980: Hassam Fund Purchase Award
  • 1988: Hassam Fund Purchase Award
  • 1994: New York State Art Teachers' Association Award
  • 1995: Emil and Dines Carlson Award
  • 1996: New Jersey Pride Award
  • 1997: Richard Florsheim Fund Grant
  • 2000: Lee Krasner Award
  • 2005: Lorenzo dei Medici Career Award, awarded at the Florence Biennale

Exhibitions

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Anuskiewicz exhibited in many public collections around the world, including such New York galleries as Sidney Janis, The Contemporaries,[4]and theAndrew Crispo Gallery.

Bibliography

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  • Anuszkiewicz, Richard and Karl Lunde. "Anuszkiewicz." New York: H.N. Abrams (1977).ISBN0-8109-0363-6
  • Alviani, Getulio, Margaret A. Miller and Giancarlo Pauletto. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Opere 1961-1987." Pordenone: Centro Culturale Casa A. Zanussi (1988).
  • Buchsteiner, Thomas and Ingrid Mossinger. "Anuszkiewicz Op Art." Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Publishers (1997).ISBN978-3-7757-0671-1
  • Kolva, Jeanne, Maxine Lurie (ed.) and Marc Mappen (ed.).Anuszkiewicz, Richard."Encyclopedia of New Jersey." New Brunswick: Rutgers University (2004). 9780813533254
  • Madden, Davidand Nicholas Spike. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Paintings & Sculptures 1945-2001: Catalogue Raisonné." Florence: Centro Di Edizioni (2010).ISBN978-88-7038-483-3
  • Price, Marshall N. "The Abstract Impulse: fifty years of abstraction at the National Academy, 1956-2006." Manchester: Hudson Hills Press (2007).ISBN978-1-887149-17-4
  • Ratliff, Floyd, Neil K. Rector and Sanford Wurmfeld. "Color Function Painting: The Art of Josef Albers, Julian Stanczak and Richard Anuszkiewicz." Winston-Salem: Wake Forest UJohn Gruen (September, 1979). "Richard Anuszkiewicz: A Beautiful Discourse with Space". ARTnews. University Fine Arts Gallery (1996).ISBN0-9720956-0-8
  • Gruen, John (September, 1979). "Richard Anuszkiewicz: A Beautiful Discourse with Space". ARTnews: 68, 69, 72, 73, 74.

References

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  1. ^Richard Anuszkiewicz Biography.Invaluable.com, retrieved February 20th, 2011
  2. ^Steinhauer, Jillian (25 May 2020)."Richard Anuszkiewicz, Whose Op Art Caught Eyes in the '60s, Dies at 89".The New York Times.
  3. ^"The Unmistakable Anuszkiewicz".
  4. ^ab"Oral history interview with Richard Anuszkiewicz, 1971 Dec. 28 - 1972 Jan. 7".Oral history interviews.Archives of American Art. 2011.Retrieved17 Jun2011.
  5. ^Smith, Roberta (2017-04-11)."Julian Stanczak, Abstract Painter, Dies at 88".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2017-04-11.
  6. ^abNew York Times.December 15, 2000. By Holland Cotter, p. E41.
  7. ^Life.December 11, 1964 "Op Art." p. 132.
  8. ^Dorothy C. Miller, ed. (1963).Americans, 1963(PDF).Museum of Modern Art. p. 6.
  9. ^"Empire State Plaza Art Collection".Retrieved14 November2018.
  10. ^Honolulu Museum of Art wall label,Sol V,1968, acrylic on canvas, accession 3546.1
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