Archival Pigment Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

"#224 – ABANDONED, SEPARATED" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist works directly onto page 224 of a found copy of Ernest ...

"#186 – WOUNDED WERE COMING" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist works directly onto pages of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's WWII romance novel. The artist selects certain words and phrases from page 186 to isolate as a poem, and then draws, inks, redacts and paints the rest of the page according to the text. The resulting poem reads "The wounded were coming / men that were scared / I felt the rain in my face / It was getting dark." – Hemingway's novel is a doomed romance between a wounded American soldier and an Italian nurse – note the feminine form on the page, with a "dress" or apron that looks skeletal, bloody and rained upon, all at once. From Amy Williams – "My recent work is focused on making treated book pages using a found vintage...

"#56 – BOTH WOUNDED A LITTLE" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist is working directly onto page 56 of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's WWII romance...

"#71 – THEN IT'S HOPELESS?" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist is working directly onto page 71 of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's WWII romance novel. The artist selects certain words and phrases from the page to isolate as a poem, and then draws, inks, redacts and paints the rest of the page according to the text of the poem. Here the poem reads: "Then it's hopeless? / But sometimes I cannot hope. / I cannot." Note the poem is outlined in dark red and purple radiating lines, while outside there are lighter violet, blue and white lines. From Amy Williams – "My recent work is focused on making treated book pages using a found vintage...

"#227 – I WAS AFRAID" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist works directly onto pages of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's WWII romance novel. The art...

Coloured inks and pastel on paper Signed Gestural abstraction Outsider art Artist’s statement : "Painting, for me, is an expressive endeavor in which one depicts the evolution of the various facets of the artistic self. There is, on each canvas, a tension where violence and stillness naturally coexist. By playing with different materials, I seek to establish a sort of unexpected dialogue between these states, and aspire to express this tension through profusion of color. The canvas is the stage that allows me to unite narration with the action of painting the fantastic—even the outrageous---and the everyday. I develop scenarios borrowed from the imagination, which join fantasy, even fables, with the everyday. Pulling threads from each domain, I bring together the mythical and the quotidian, so that the worlds of reality and fantasy merge. I rely on “creatures,” improbable little characters that could exist in some other realm or dimension. They materialize, issuing forth from the surprising, unbelievable and wondrous world of childhood. Human or animal, both find themselves entangled in inextricable and melancholic situations. These inextricable situations create distance; the humor comes through this breach. It is the absurdity of their predicaments that manifests the humor in the work. In each of my paintings, the sentiments are heightened by an intentional, provocative tone that transforms the work. An Otherness is attributed to objects; objects become personified, and by their very presence, they become witnesses or guinea pigs torn between and bound to their dilemma. The titles of my paintings, whether invented or quotations taken out of context, come from literature, theater, or song lyrics. Accident and chance are often major actors in my work.” Emmanuelle Messika BIOGRAPHY : Emmanuelle Messika was born in France in 1979. She works and lives in Paris. STUDIES 1999-2005 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris Diplômée en Juin 2005 2004 Échange universitaire à Hunter College, New York NY, USA 1993-1999 Ateliers des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Montparnasse PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS : 2019 Claire Corcia Gallery, Paris 2018 Claire Corcia Gallery, Paris Outsider Art Fair, Paris 2012 Art Contemporain Sèvres, "La Chartreuse", Sèvres 2011 Espace Seven, Galerie De Vos, Paris 2010 Les Trois Baudets, Paris Galerie Mariska Hammoudi, Paris Galerie Crous -Beaux-Arts, Paris L'Apparemment Café, Paris 2009 Espace Rachi, Paris 2008 Galerie Console, Paris 2007 Exposition Place du Québec, Mairie du sixième, Paris 2006 Galerie Eonnet-Dupuis, Paris 2005 Galerie Crous Beaux Arts, Paris 2004 The Mark Bar, "Bring your own flashlight", Brooklin, New York 2003 Le Glaz’art, Paris 2002 9 rue Dauphine, Paris 2001 Galerie Gauche, École des Beaux-Arts, Paris 2000 La grosse caisse, Paris La liberté, Paris GROUP SHOWS 2011 Chic Art Fair, Galerie Mariska Hammoudi Galerie De Vos, Espace Seven 2010 Galerie Mariska Hammoudi, Paris Chic Dessin, avec Cherry Gallery...

Smooth abstract composition mounted on slate by an unknown artist. Unsigned. No frame.

"#152 – GOOD GIRL" is from Amy Williams' series A Farewell to Arms – wherein the artist is working directly onto page 152 of a found copy of Ernest Heming...

Robert Rauschenberg 'Snowflake Crime XIX', from the ACE Gallery Collection, 1981 Solvent transfer, acrylic and fabric collage on handmade paper with deckled edges Signed and dated '81 in permanent marker on the back; bears unique artist inventory number on the back This is a UNIQUE work of art 7 3/4 × 7 1/2 inches This work is affixed on the top to its original mat, and the artist's hand signature can be seen on the verso, along with the date and artist's unique inventory number. Rauschenberg Reference No: RR-81.002 Signed and dated '81 by Robert Rauschenberg in permanent marker on the verso; bears unique inventory number Provenance: ACE Gallery art collection...

Contemporary abstract painting and collage composition of stamps, various types of paper, and watercolor by Michael Pauker (American, b. 1957), 2009. Titled "Codicis Liber", which is...

Black and white portrait of a woman done in a style that combines abstraction and cubism, much like the work of Fernand Leger. Signed and dated in lower left corner. Artist Biography: Valery Kleverov was born in Engels, Russian Federation, Soviet Union June 28, 1939 the son of a fighter test pilot in the Soviet Air Force. He exhibited an independent, rebellious, and highly artistic temperament from a young age. Conscription into the Red Army at the standard age of (18) was first and last straw in the young artist’s battle with the State, he lasted only a few months before making an unauthorized parachute jump over a forest to go permanently AWOL. After 3 weeks hiding in the woods, he eventually made his way to Leningrad, dropped his first name and the “ov” from the end of his name and began his life as the underground artist known as “KLEVER”. He fell in with a close-knit group of young anti-authoritarian rebels who eventually became known to the world as the “Non-Conformists”, a small gang of free thinkers mainly from Leningrad and Moscow who rebelled against State control of artistic expression and of free thought. In the Soviet Union, not only religion was outlawed - art, literature, music and dance were all subject to heavy censorship and state oversight. Among paintings historical, religious, abstract, anti-Soviet and erotic subjects were all against the law. From 1966 to 1977 Klever made a reputation for himself as one of the non-conformists most overtly critical of the Soviet state. Many of his paintings from this period can be described as nothing less than heroic- they are truly remarkable visual essays on the evils of the national security/surveillance state, propaganda and manipulation of cultural symbols, suppression of artistic and religious freedom, revisionist history, and unfilled promises for the future. All of them were painted stored and exhibited not only at great risk to the artist and his associates, but also to anybody who sought to view them. In spite of the secrecy, the KGB discovered the existence of these pieces and began to follow Klever’s every move. There were surprise visits to his studio, harassment wherever he went, friends and family being questioned all a direct result of his determination to express himself artistically against Soviet control. From this time forward Klever had an exhibit which was open for viewing at all times inside the apartment of Bob Kashilohov as part of a network which paralleled the Samizdat network for sharing of forbidden literature. Klever was arrested for his participation in the most important non- conformist exhibitions which took place during his time there. These were the Bulldozer Exhibition in Moscow, 1974, (so named because the KGB bulldozed the exhibition and destroyed much of the work) and the Nevski Dom exhibition in Leningrad, 1975. These exhibitions represented some of the early cracks in the foundations of the Soviet state’s control over the population’s basic aspirations for economic, personal and creative freedom that ended with collapse in 1991. Repercussions of the Bulldozer exhibition were that some of the painters were arrested or even killed. Approximately 70 artists were arrested, including Klever. Media outcry in the west allowed most of the artists to be released within a week. Two weeks later another exhibition was allowed to proceed and became known as “Half Day of Freedom” in the Soviet Union. The Nevsky exhibition caused a huge sensation and was a watershed moment in the cultural history of the Soviet Union. People lined up for 30 blocks long over the course of the two week exhibition to see the forbidden works. Klever showed a large collection of explicit anti-Soviet paintings...

"#159 – SLEEP" is from Amy Williams' series "A Farewell to Arms" – wherein the artist works directly onto page 159 of a found copy of Ernest Hemingway's WWII romance novel. The artis...