Between Two Worlds
George Adams on Arnaldo Roche Rabell
January 2023
"Arnaldo Roche first came to my attention in 1988 when I received the announcement for his first show with the Struve Gallery in Chicago. The images, especially the self portraits, were haunting and unlike anything I had seen before. Not long after I was in Chicago and saw the work in person, first at Struve’s and then on a visit to the artist’s studio where I met Arnaldo for the first time..."
Notes on a Fireplace
The paintings of Joanna Beall Westermann
October 2022
In the summer of 1967, H. C. Westermann began work on a studio for his wife, the painter Joanna Beall Westermann. The couple had recently moved to rural Connecticut, where they were staying in a cottage on Joanna’s family property. Space was tight for two working artists, so building the studio was a priority.
Our Man in Switzerland
Amer Kobaslija in residence in Brig
July 2022
For Amer Kobaslija, location is everything. A self described “stranger,” Amer has lived and worked around the world, from his native Bosnia, throughout Europe, the United States and Japan.
Made at the Sandal Shop
Curator Liv Moe on Doug Biggert's boundless curiosity
April 2022
If you spend time with Doug, he'll start taking pictures of you. It just happens.
It was just a thing he did because it was interesting to him and then it became a practice of his, especially after the Sandal Shop series, to just always have a camera. And if you look at all of the boxes and boxes of photos that has all over his house, he documents every single thing.
A Cuban State of Mind
George Adams on Discovering Juan Francisco Elso
March 2022
"In 1991, while on a trip to the List Gallery at MIT to oversee the installation of an Arneson exhibition, I wandered into an adjacent gallery. On view was an astonishing body of work mostly made from tree branches, twine, dirt and paper. The work, fragile, so full of humanity and astonishingly original, captivated me. I asked the List’s curator Katy Kline the identity of the artist: Juan Francisco Elso..."
Some Assembly Required
Tom Burckhardt and Alexi Worth in Conversation
January 2022
On the occasion of his two-person exhibition at the gallery, Elmer Bischoff/Tom Burckhardt: A Dialogue, Tom sat down with fellow painter Alexi Worth to discuss the humor in Bischoff’s abstractions, "feeling figurative," and his Ikea Furniture Theory of Art.
The Slant Step
A Brief History
January 2022
Since its “discovery” in 1965, the Slant Step has been the subject of four exhibitions and has become the catalyst for the assembly of works in all media.
Flag
George Herms and the Counter-Culture of Assemblage
November 2021
In 1962, while George Herms was living in what he referred to as “groove grove cabin isolated in 100 acres Malibu Hills,” the catalyst for a new body of work was the untimely death of his Packard automobile, which he ascribed to “so many dirt road hills.” The Packard, and its contents, then became the source material for a series of assemblages, among them this work, ‘Flag.’
On H. C. Westermann
Exploring the man, the artist and his legacy
October 2021
In conjunction with our current exhibition of works on paper by H. C. Westermann: Le Bandeur, we spoke to a range of people who knew Westermann in life or through his work, about who he was as a person, an artist and why his work continues to resonate, thirty years after his death at the age of 59.
An Enduring Legacy
George Adams on H. C. Westermann and his lasting influence
June 2021
The gallery’s legacy going back to 1952 is inextricably linked to H. C. Westermann. There is no way to overstate his impact on the gallery both in terms of his art and his personality; both are equivalent.
A Short History of the Gallery
June 2021
Preparing for our move has given us reason to look back through our archives at the gallery’s many decades in New York.
Jeremy Anderson: Truth in a Tangible Form
January 2021
Though Jeremy Anderson is often placed in a lineage of avant-garde thought which can be traced back to the Cubism and Surrealism of a half-century prior, his own concept of sculpture as an art form went well beyond any physical limitations.
Remembering Joan
November 2020
We are pleased to share our video series reflecting on the impact Joan Brown had as a person and an artist, both during her lifetime and after her death.
Discovering the Self
George Adams reflects on organizing Joan Brown’s Memorial Exhibition
October 26, 2020
October 26, 2020, is the 30th anniversary of Joan Brown's death at age 52 in Prasanthinilayam, India, 1990. George Adams recounts organizing her memorial exhibition, which opened at the gallery in September of the following year.
Jack Beal: Finding "Form"
August 2020
Though it is easy to remember Jack Beal solely for the role he played in re-affirming the figure as a subject of contemporary painting, a more complex side of his legacy is what lead him to the idealized, modeled affect of his best-known works.
From Corinth to Saul
George Adams on the legacy of Allan Frumkin and value of drawings
August 2020
"A side of the gallery that is perhaps not well known but no less central to the gallery’s history and reputation is drawings."
Visiting Joan
George Adams on getting to know Joan Brown
June 2020
Most of the gallery’s relationships with our artists stretch back decades and, while their work is always paramount in our minds, it is often the personal experiences which stand out most. Here, George Adams recalls such moments with Joan Brown.
Online Viewing Room
June 2020
We are pleased to present our first online viewing room, as part of the ADAA Member Viewing Rooms in collaboration with Artlogic.
Andrew Lenaghan Presents...
Sketchbook Tour
May 2020
When Andy told us he had just completed another sketchbook, we asked him to give us a virtual "tour". This book was started last summer and takes us through vacations, the school year, changing seasons and, in the final pages, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Arneson Visits the Pollock-Krasner House
Spring, East Hampton, New York, Fall 1991
May 2020
In 1991, George Adams accompanied Robert Arneson and his wife, Sandra Shannonhouse on a visit to the Pollock-Krasner House, former home and studio of painters Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner.
A Tribute to the San Francisco Art Institute
Part IV: the 1970s
May 2020
As SFAI passed its first centennial in 1971, the experimentation and innovation of years prior was increasingly a defining characteristic of the school.
A Tribute to the San Francisco Art Institute
Part III: the 1960s
April 2020
In 1961, CSFA changed its name to the San Francisco Art Institute. Under this new identity, the school continued to evolve, expanding programming to include the multi-media and conceptual disciplines that were beginning to take form in the arts.
First Studio Visit with Luis Cruz Azaceta
Ridgewood, Queens, 1981
April 2020
In the early 1980s, Luis Cruz Azaceta was living and working out of a small studio in Ridgewood, Queens. George Adams recalls his first time visiting Luis’ studio and the impression he made.
A Tribute to the San Francisco Art Institute
Part II: the 1950s
April 2020
As we continue to celebrate the history of the San Francisco Art Institute and its alumni, one of the school’s most enduring (and important) legacies has been the fostering of communities that extend beyond the classroom.
A Tribute to the San Francisco Art Institute
Part I: the 1940s
April 2020
With the San Francisco Art Institute’s recent announcement that it may be forced to close, we wanted to take the opportunity over the next few weeks to highlight just how critical the Institute has been in shaping art in the Bay Area and beyond.
Luis Cruz Azaceta Studio Tour
Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
April 2020
Here is the full video of our Online Studio Visit with Luis Cruz Azaceta! Azaceta gives us a tour of his “bunker” as he discusses the beginnings of his career in New York, his history with the gallery and his current exhibition.