Gerald Purdy
Duet 2/50
1960 - 1980

About the Item

"Duet", sandblasted mezzotint, 7.5 x 9.5 inches (Framed size: 16 x 17 inches), $300 At first glance, Gerald Purdy (1930 - ) reveals masterful draftsmanship and technical execution. Looking closer, we see a tongue-in-cheek narrative told with charm and wit. In fact, amusement pervades Purdy’s subject matter. “My work is created out of a basic human anxiety that has been formed through personal experience in contemporary society. … Aspiring to freedom, I embrace anarchy through comedic irony and humor.” Originally from the Midwest, Purdy came to Phillips Gallery via a short teaching stint in print-making at the University of Utah during the late ‘60’s-early ‘70’s. His accolades are numerous, including two awards received in 1989 and 1992 from the Borchard Foundation, “An International Conference of Humor in Art,” while he was an Artist in Residence at the foundation in Missillac, France. He now lives near Portland, Oregon. From the Artist: "I chose narrative art from the menu and have never looked back (some people think I can’t look back because I’m already there). My heart is in American art of the 1930’s and 40’s and the sentimentalism of the “Saturday Evening Post”! Time and space have collapsed in art but not in the self of the artist. I happen to think we are still driven by the need to tell stories and to create illusion and order where none exists. My own stories are basically domestic and tend to be ironic. They may not be visually or conceptually whole, because two or three ideas may intrude on the same piece, but they are intended to be “stories” that contain location, exposition, conflict and resolution. They just aren’t the great stories of salvation or war that populate the history of art and take up so much valuable space on museum walls. Finally, irony is one of the great forms of the comedic, which drives me — and comedy is anarchy." - Gerald Purdy

Creator:

Gerald Purdy (1931, American)

Creation Year:

1960 - 1980

Dimensions:

Height: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Width: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)

Medium:

Mezzotint

Period:

Late 20th Century

Condition:

Gallery Location: