Sherman Drexler
Sherman Drexler(January 3, 1925 – July 19, 2014) was an Americanfigurativeexpressionistpainter[1][2][3]best known for his paintings of female nudes. He later taught at several institutions, including Cooper Union School of Art (1974) and theUniversity of Pennsylvania(1980). His career spanned more than 50 years. He was married to Pop artist and playwrightRosalyn Drexler.[4][5][6]
Sherman Drexler | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 January 1925 |
| Died | 19 July 2014 |
| Alma mater | University of California |
| Occupation | painter |
| Spouse | Rosalyn Drexler |
Early life
[edit]Sherman Drexler was born inBrooklyn, New Yorkin 1925.[7]He spent his infancy in Seagate, Coney Island but he grew up mainly in the Bronx. Drexler began painting at an early age; he took up and painting in earnest when he was 17 years old, modelling his work after Henri Matisse and Amedeo Modigliani. He was admitted toUniversity of California, Berkeleyas an English major, but began studying the works of Old Masters, Da Vinci in particular, and left Berkeley without completing his studies there. He earned his degree a decade later when he returned to receive a B.F.A.[8]
Career
[edit]Drexler's first exhibition, in 1956, was in Berkeley, California at the Courtyard Gallery. Drexler returned to New York in the same year and began teaching at a local junior high school. In 1958, Drexler made his New York premier with an exhibition at the Seven Arts Gallery. He also enrolled at Hunter College where he studied under prominent artists including Robert Motherwell.[8]
Although Drexler was a figurative painter at a time whenabstract expressionismenjoyed great popularity, he soon became a part of theNew York Schoolof the late 1950s and 1960s. He met and befriendedFranz Kline,Andy WarholandAlex Katz.In the early 1960s Drexler was featured in many solo exhibitions including shows at New York City galleries[9]including the Rice and Tibor De Nagy Galleries. Many of Drexler's works in this period took female nudes as subjects, setting them against monochromatic backgrounds.[10][7]Drexler's works often made reference to contemporary events, including Pete Rose's defeat by Joe DiMaggio, or mythical/biblical narratives, such as Leda and the Swan or Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden. Drexler's works often portrayed the human body in motion.[11]
From 1961 to 1963, Drexler curated art exhibits for Special School (P.S.) #619 to benefit theBrother Island Drug Rehabilitation Facilityin The Bronx. The facility closed in 1963.
In 1966, Drexler was awarded a fellowship from theGuggenheim Foundation.[12]
In 1983, Drexler made a journey to theCave of Altamirain Spain and theGrotte Chauvetin southern France. The Paleolithic drawings that he saw there influenced his later work. Though Drexler continued his work with the female nude,[13][14]he turned his attention to representing animals, using found objects, painting on stones wood and scrap metal as his canvases. He developed an interest in Primitivism which he displayed in 1995 in a group show featuring older artists titled "Still Working."[15]In 2005, theNew York Timesreviewer Ken Johnson described a "persuasive sense of urgency" in the work and described Drexler as a "modern cave painter".[16]
Drexler died on July 19, 2014, of cancer at his studio inNewark, New Jersey.In 2016, his portrait of his wife Rosalyn Dexter was included in her exhibitionWho Does She Think She Is?atRose Art Museum,Brandeis University.[17]
References
[edit]- ^Kingsley, April. "Emotional Impact: American Figurative Expressionism". East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2013.
- ^Kulchur.Kulchur. 1964. pp. 97–98.
- ^"Instant Illuminations: Elaine de Kooning’s Early Portraiture".Hyperallergicby Tim Keane on April 4, 2015
- ^Feinstein, Ronny. "Strangers no More" In "Art in America." June/July, 2007, 177.
- ^Jules Heller; Nancy G. Heller (19 December 2013).North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary.Routledge. pp. 161–.ISBN978-1-135-63882-5.
- ^Alastair Sooke (27 August 2015).Pop Art: A Colourful History.Penguin Books Limited. pp. 122–.ISBN978-0-241-97307-3.
- ^abNew York Media, LLC (2 February 1976)."New York Magazine".Newyorkmetro.New York Media, LLC: 57–.ISSN0028-7369.
- ^abBui, Phong."Sherman Drexler with Phong Bui,"The Brooklyn Rail,July/August, 2009.'
- ^Arts Magazine.Vol. 60. Art Digest Incorporated. 1985. p. 19.
- ^James Fitzsimmons (1976).Art International.J. Fitzsimmons. p. 68.
- ^Joanna Frueh; Laurie Fierstein; Judith E. Stein (January 2000).Picturing the Modern Amazon.St Martins Press. p. unknown.ISBN978-0-8478-2247-8.
- ^Sherman Drexler at Guggenheim Foundation
- ^Stuart Shedletsky; Larry Fink; Ann Eden Gibson (June 1994).Still working: underknown artists of age in America.Parsons School of Design,New York, in association withUniversity of Washington Press,Seattle and London. p. 51.ISBN9780295973852.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^Russell, John (May 14, 1982)."Audubon without Feathers".New York Times.
- ^Ebony, David. "Sherman Drexler at 479 Gallery," Art in America, 83.10; 128.
- ^Johnson, Ken (February 4, 2005)."Sherman Drexler: Art Paradise, 50 Years of Painting".New York Times.
- ^"Caught Up in Rosalyn Drexler’s Dramatic Moments".Hyperallergic,Leah Triplett Harrington on May 17, 2016.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| Artists | |
