This special presentation of works by Alan Shields, Marilyn Lerner, Fanny Sanín, Abdolreza Aminlari, and Polly Apfelbaum presents an intergenerational, global selection of artists working in vibrant geometric abstraction. The artists utilize a kaleidoscopic palette, often on atypical surfaces. Shields’ use of unstretched canvas is in dialogue with the shaped ceramic and wood panels of Apfelbaum, and Lerner respectively. Like Shields, Aminlari utilizes sewing to create hard edge abstract forms. Sanín’s paintings, which are acrylic on rectangular canvas, play with shape in their repeating symmetrical forms that call attention to the dimensions of each work. Rhythmic forms repeating in brilliant tones is a common motif for the artists.
When exhibited together, a dialectic relationship surrounding the methods of geometric abstraction begins to emerge. When observing the work of this group of artists together (some of whom were contemporaries working in entirely different parts of the world) an overarching historical narrative emerges surrounding form, line, and color in abstraction from the 1970’s to today. The similarities in style further illuminate the continued exploration of image making in the postwar period.
Alan Shields was born in Herington, Kansas in 1944. He attended Kansas State University where he studied civil engineering, studio art, and the work of Buckminster Fuller. He moved to New York City in 1968 and showed with Paula Cooper Gallery until 1991. In 1970 he began his signature three-dimensional, two-sided paintings. He took up permanent residence on Shelter Island in 1972 where he focused on print and papermaking producing over thirty editions between 1971 – 1974. In 2005 he died in Shelter Island, NY. Recent solo exhibitions include: Alan Shields: Common Threads, Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY (2018); Alan Shields: A Different Kind of Painting, Beeler Gallery at Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, OH (2017); Alan Shields: Protracted Simplicity (1966-1985), Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO (2016). Included in museum collections such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Museum of art, New York, NY, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, Tate Collection, London, UK, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY.
Marilyn Lerner was born in 1942 in Milwaukee, WI. After receiving her BS from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, she received her MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Lerner has held solo exhibitions at galleries and institutions including Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY (2021, 2018); Cue Art Foundation, New York, NY (2016); Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny, Ireland (2014); Robert Morrison Gallery, New York, NY (1992); John Good Gallery, New York, NY (1989, 1987); Kornblee Gallery, New York, NY (1976); and Zabriskie Gallery, New York, NY (1969). Her work has been exhibited in group shows at venues including The Pera Museum, Istanbul, Turkey; The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Staten Island, NY; Madison Art Center, Madison, WI; MoMA PS1, New York, NY; The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT; and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, among others. She currently lives and works in New York.
Fanny Sanín was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1938 and earned a degree in Fine Arts at the University of the Andes. She continued her education with graduate studies at the University of Illinois and the Chelsea School of Art in London. During her early career she resided in Monterrey, Mexico and since 1971, she has lived and worked in New York, NY. Dedicated primarily to geometric abstraction, Sanín’s prolific career spans five decades. Her paintings, drawings, and prints have been exhibited widely throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe. Presented in more than 300 group and 43 solo exhibitions in both galleries and institutions, her work has prompted a variety of publications and scholarly essays and is included in many leading public and private collections worldwide.
Polly Apfelbaum studied painting and printmaking at the Tyler School of Art in Pennsylvania, receiving a B.F.A. in 1978. She moved to New York City, where she was inspired by installation art and began to create work that bridged sculpture and painting. She has had over 60 solo exhibitions worldwide and has been exhibited at numerous museums, including the Brooklyn Museum, ICA Boston and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She has received awards and grants from organizations including Anonymous Was a Woman, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the Rome Prize. Her work is in the collection of several prominent institutions, such as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Dallas Art Museum and LACMA.
Abdolreza Aminlari was born in Tehran, Iran and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. In 2001 he attended AICAD as part of the New York Studio Program, New York, NY and went on to receive his BFA in 2002 College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. He has widely, and has had residencies with West Elm, Dieu Donné, Dave Brown Projects in New York, and SÍM Residency in Reykjavik. Collections include TD Bank Corporate Art Collection, Toronto, CA; New York-Presbyterian, New York, NY; Progressive Art Collection, Mayfield, OH; Fidelity Corporate Art Collection, Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA; College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI.
This exhibition is organized by Elizabeth Sadeghi and Kate Werble.