Items Similar to "Lexington, " Larry Zox, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Brown Modernism
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8
Larry Zox"Lexington, " Larry Zox, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Brown Modernism1973
1973
About the Item
Larry Zox
Lexington, 1973
Acrylic on canvas
61 x 49 inches
Provenance:
Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York
Janie C. Lee Gallery, Houston, Texas
Private Collection, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Exhibited:
New York, Andre Emmerich Gallery, Larry Zox: New Paintings, March 10 - 28, 1973.
Houston, Texas, Janie C. Lee Gallery, Larry Zox, February - April, 1974.
A painter who played an essential role in the Color Field discourse of the 1960s and 1970s, Larry Zox is best known for his intensely and brilliantly colored geometric abstractions, which question and violate symmetry. Zox stated in 1965: “Being contrary is the only way I can get at anything.” To Zox, this position was not necessarily arbitrary, but instead meant “responding to something in an examination of it [such as] using a mechanical format with X number of possibilities." What he sought was to “get at the specific character and quality of each painting in and for itself,” as James Monte stated in his introductory essay in the catalogue for Zox’s 1973–74 solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Zox also at times used a freer, more intuitive method, while maintaining coloristic autonomy, which became increasingly important to him in his later career.
Zox began to receive attention in the 1960s, when he was included in several groundbreaking exhibitions of Color Field and Minimalist art, including Shape and Structure (1965), organized by Henry Geldzahler and Frank Stella for Tibor de Nagy, New York, and Systemic Painting (1966), organized by Lawrence Alloway for the Guggenheim Museum. In 1973–74, the Whitney’s solo exhibition of Zox’s work gave recognition to his significance in the art scene of the preceding decade. In the following year, he was represented in the inaugural exhibition of the Hirshhorn Museum, which acquired fourteen of his works.
Zox was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended the University of Oklahoma and Drake University, and then studied under George Grosz at the Des Moines Art Center. In 1958, Zox moved to New York, joining the downtown art scene. His studio on 20th Street became a gathering place for artists, jazz musicians, bikers, and boxers. He occasionally sparred with visiting fighters. He later established a studio in East Hampton, a former black smithy used previously by Jackson Pollock.
Zox’s earliest works were collages consisting of pieces of painted paper stapled onto sheets of plywood. He then produced paintings that were illusions of collages, including both torn- and trued-edged forms, to which he added a wide range of strong hues that created ambiguous surfaces. Next, he omitted the collage aspect of his work and applied flat color areas to create more complete statements of pure color and shape. He then replaced these torn and expressive edges with clean and impersonal lines that would define his work for the next decade.
From 1962 to 1965, he produced his Rotation series, at first creating plywood and Plexiglas reliefs, which turned squares into dynamic polygons. He used these shapes in his paintings as well, employing white as a foil between colors to produce negative spaces that suggest that the colored shapes had only been cut out and laid down instead of painted. The New York Times noted in 1964: “The artist is hip, cool, adventurous, not content to stay with the mere exercise of sensibility that one sees in smaller works.”
In 1965, he began the Scissors Jack series, in which he arranged opposing triangular shapes with inverted Vs of bare canvas at their centers that threaten to split their compositions apart. In several works from this series, Zox was inspired by ancient Chinese water vessels. With a mathematical precision and a poetic license, Zox flattened the three dimensional object onto graph paper, and later translated his interpretation of vessel’s lines onto canvas with masking tape, forming the structure of the painting.
The Diamond Cut and Diamond Drill paintings followed. In these, he used regularized formats as a means of revealing how color can change our perception of shape. In a single work he often combined industrial epoxy paints with acrylic to set up tensions between colors that would not exist otherwise. At the time, Peter Schjeldahl observed in the New York Times: Zox “is one painter who shows an ability to play by the rules without cramping at all an essentially romantic and exuberant sensibility.” In an essay for an exhibition at Dartmouth College Schjeldahl elaborated: “Zox has clearly adapted Post-Painterly procedures and Minimal pictorial conventions to the demands of a free-wheeling, lyrical sensibility." His art of the period was equated with that of Frank Stella and Kenneth Noland.
In the late 1960s, Zox’s paintings, such as in his Gemini series, became brushier; he often incorporated powdered mica into his paints to increase their visual effect. He explored a variety of new means of applying paint early in the following decade, including using squeegees and other large tools. With these means, he moved away from preconception, while introducing a drawing procedure in which the outside limits of a painting were determined by cutting or cropping the canvas.
In the mid-1970s, Zox created a series of paintings in which he explored lateral tensions, leaving the centers of his works blank. He continued to stretch Color Field limits in the 1980s, combining the detachment of paint staining with gestural brushwork balanced between intuition and intentionality. He created more fluid yet still rigorous paintings in the early 2000s that were receiving critical praise when he died in 2006 from cancer.
Zox taught at the School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1967–68, 1977, and 1980. He was artist in residence or guest artist at many universities such as Yale, Syracuse, Cornell, and Dartmouth. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship (1967) and awards from the National Council of the Arts (1969) and the Adolph Gottlieb Foundation (1985). Throughout his career, Zox had annual solo shows in galleries in New York City and elsewhere. In addition to the Whitney exhibition of 1973–74, he had solo shows at the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire (1970), the Akron Art Institute (1971), the Des Moines Art Center, Iowa (1974), and the Marsh Gallery, University of Richmond, Virginia (1993). He participated in many notable museum and college gallery exhibitions at venues including the Whitney; Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York; the Palm Springs Desert Museum; the Guggenheim; the Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City, Iowa; the Des Moines Art Center; the Blanden Memorial Art Museum; and the Muscatine Art Center, Iowa.
Zox is represented in over one hundred museum collections. In addition to the Hirshhorn, his work is included in the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Tate Modern, London; the Neues Museum, Bremen, Germany; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts.
- Creator:Larry Zox (1936-2006, American)
- Creation Year:1973
- Dimensions:Height: 62 in (157.48 cm)Width: 50 in (127 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1841210452772
Larry Zox
Larry Zox was one of the principal representatives of the generation of young painters following the era of the Abstract Expressionists. He is best known for his exuberant geometric abstractions. Many classified him as an Abstract artist, but he considered himself to be a Colorist, which made a strong contribution to the Color Field movement of the 1960s. Zox utilized geometric forms in a mechanistic format and fewer contrasting colors in a design that is based upon improvisation. His works conform to the modern idea that art must be done with fluidity, acceleration and rapidity of execution.
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 2021
1stDibs seller since 2022
63 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- "Night Road" Gerome Kamrowski, Abstract Expressionism Surrealism, Purple ImpastoBy Gerome KamrowskiLocated in New York, NYGerome Kamrowski (1914 - 2004) Night Road, 1966 Acrylic on canvas 58 1/4 x 96 1/4 inches Signed and dated Provenance: The Artist The Kamrowski Estate (by family descent in 2004) Exhibited: The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, 56th Exhibition for Michigan Artists, November 18 - December 31, 1966, no. 32, illustrated (Night Road was the winner of the "Phyllis King Weiner Memorial Prize" at this exhibition). Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gerome Kamrowski: A Retrospective Exhibition, August 30 - October 16, 1983, no. 70, illustrated. Tarpon Springs, Florida, Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, St. Petersburg College, Gerome Kamrowski: An American Surrealist, September 8 - October 27, 2002, no. 23. Chelsea, Michigan, River Gallery, Gerome Kamrowski: 1914-2004, A Memorial Retrospective, October 30 - December 5, 2004. Gerome Kamrowski was born in Warren, Minnesota, on January 19, 1914. In 1932 he enrolled in the Saint Paul School of Art (now Minnesota Museum of American Art - MMAA), where he studied with Leroy Turner, and Cameron Booth. Both Turner and Booth had been students of Hans Hofmann, and were also associated with the Abstraction-Création group in Paris. It was from these peers that Kamrowski was introduced to a "kind of expressionist cubism." In 1933 Kamrowski was awarded a scholarship to the Art Students League, where he would study in New York under Hans Hofmann. Unfortunately, immigration problems had prevented Hofmann from assuming his post. Nevertheless, Kamrowski decided to remain in New York for a short time, to attend classes taught by George Grosz. After a few weeks, he returned to St. Paul, and found a position in the mural painting division of the Minnesota FAP/WPA (Works Progress Administration). In 1936 he contributed “Synthetic Cubist Style” frescoes in the Northrup Auditorium of the University of Minnesota. In 1937 Kamrowski went to Chicago to study under László Moholy-Nagy and Alexander Archipenko at the New Bauhaus (now Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design). There he was exposed to new and interesting ideas regarding the role of nature in art and the "geometric basis of natural form". In 1938 Kamrowski received a Guggenheim fellowship to attend Hans Hofmann's summer school in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He then relocated to New York where he met William Baziotes. Together they shared a fascination in Surrealist automatic writing, and both artists explored its possibilities in their paintings. Kamrowski was particularly drawn to Surrealism's fundamental appeal of intuition over intellect. He was interested seeking a process that "binds all things together...a kind of cosmic rhythm". Throughout the late 1930s and early 1940s while living in New York, Kamrowski became an integral part of the emerging surrealists. In 1942, the artist Roberto Matta attempted to form a group of artists to investigate new applications for Surrealist methods. He invited Kamrowski, along with William Baziotes, Jackson Pollock, Peter Busa...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- "Grey II" Sherron Francis, Female Abstract Expressionism, Color FieldBy Sherron FrancisLocated in New York, NYSherron Francis Grey II, 1975 Signed, titled and dated on the reverse Acrylic on canvas 80 x 69 1/2 inches Artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Dan Christensen, and Sa...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- "Titled Out" Sherron Francis, Female Abstract Expressionism, Brown Color FieldBy Sherron FrancisLocated in New York, NYSherron Francis Titled Out, 1973 Signed, titled and dated on the reverse Acrylic on canvas 66 3/4 x 38 1/2 inches Artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Dan Christensen,...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
- "Untitled" Sherron Francis, Female Abstract Expressionism, Black Color FieldBy Sherron FrancisLocated in New York, NYSherron Francis Untitled, 1977 Signed and dated on the reverse Acrylic and mixed media on canvas 93 x 42 inches Artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Dan Christensen, a...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
- "Untitled" Sherron Francis, Female Abstract Expressionism, Black Color FieldBy Sherron FrancisLocated in New York, NYSherron Francis Untitled, 1973 Acrylic on canvas 70 x 48 inches Artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Dan Christensen, and Sam Francis are already well-known names. How...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- "Untitled" Sherron Francis, Female Abstract Expressionism, Red Green Color FieldBy Sherron FrancisLocated in New York, NYSherron Francis Untitled, circa 1975 Acrylic on canvas 90 x 64 inches Artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Dan Christensen, and Sam Francis are already well-known name...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
You May Also Like
- Working Man, Large Oil Painting by Thornton Willis 1981Located in Long Island City, NYArtist: Thornton Willis, American (1936 - ) Title: Working Man Year: 1981 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed and titled verso Size: 84 x 94 in. (213.36 ...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- A Set of 12 Contemporary Framed Abstract Paintings Blue White Museum CollectionBy Monica AngleLocated in Buffalo, NYA set of 12 original mixed media monotype and painting mixed media works by American contemporary artist Monica Angle. These pieces were inspired by the changing light throughout th...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
- Phenomena Prism Mirror by Paul Jenkins - Abstract paintingBy Paul JenkinsLocated in London, GB*UK BUYERS WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL 5% IMPORT DUTY ON TOP OF THE ABOVE PRICE Phenomena Prism Mirror by Paul Jenkins (1923-2012) Acrylic on canvas 147.3 x 1...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- Phenomena Spectrum Guardian by Paul Jenkins, Abstract Expressionist artistBy Paul JenkinsLocated in London, GBPhenomena Spectrum Guardian by Paul Jenkins (1923 - 2012) Acrylic on canvas 76 x 101.5 cm (29 ⁷/₈ x 40 inches) Signed lower middle Paul Jenkins Executed in 1970 Provenance: Gallerie Iris Wazzau, Davos, Switzerland Private collection, Cologne, Germany Artist biography: Born at Kansas City in Missouri (USA), the multi-media artist, poet and playwright Paul Jenkins studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the Art Students League in New York City. After his discharge from military service at the end of February 1946, he briefly studied playwriting with dramatist George McCalmon at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. Thereafter, Jenkins spent four years studying with Japanese American artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi in New York City. His first solo exhibitions were held at Studio Paul Facchetti in Paris in 1954 and the Martha Graham Gallery in New York City in 1956. Over the past thirty years, numerous retrospectives have been curated across the globe and Jenkins’ work can found in national collections from Europe and the United States to Israel, Australia and Japan. The diversity of his work springs from Jenkins’ wealth of eclectic influences. Some of his earliest works included what he called "interior landscapes" influenced by ancient natural forms like the caves he visited in the Ozark Mountains in his native-Missouri. Frequent student visits to the Frick Collection in New York fostered a love of the great masters: Bellini, Holbein, Vermeer, Rembrandt, de la Tour, Turner and Goya. In compliment, lingering student visits to the renowned Eastern collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City evoked powerful sympathy for a monumental Chinese fresco...Category
1970s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- Celtic Song. Contemporary Abstract Expressionist PaintingBy Patricia McParlinLocated in Brecon, PowysPatricia McParlin, is an award winning British artist who lives and works in Wales. She studied at The University of Wales and The West Wales School of the Arts. She has recently b...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Acrylic
- Demit Omphroy - Conversation, Painting 2022Located in Greenwich, CT“Conversation” represents the defining moment that one has with themselves around the decision to stay or leave the relationship. It is the final internal conversation where one has ...Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Minimal Vintage
Abstract Minimal Art
Framed Abstract Expressionism Paintings
Abstract Minimal Painting
Vintage Brown University
Whitney Exhibition
Modernism Paintings
Large Abstract Expressionism
Abstract Street Scenes
Desert Abstracts
Minimal Diamond
Abstract Art Desert
Abstract Modernism
Black Minimal Abstract Art
Abstract Artist From Colorado
Palm Springs Abstract
Modernism Gallery
Abstract Musicians