A Unique, Unusual and Striking Abstract Surrealist Painting Completed in the Chicago Imagist Tradition by Notable Artist, Stanley Dean Edwards (Am. Born 1941). Titled "The Last Living Face in Pompeii", the painting is oil and acrylic on canvas presented in its original frame. The artwork shows a unique synthesis of Post-War Surrealist influences, including the avant-garde Italian artist Enrico Baj and the vibrant palette of the Chicago Imagist school, namely Ed Paschke and his contemporaries. The collage-like references in the composition recall the artwork of sculptor H.C. Westermann and others experimenting with assemblage, found objects and the integration of inanimate objects.
Artwork size: 38 1/2 x 32 inches; Framed size: 39 1/4 x 33 1/4 inches. Signed "Edwards", lower right; signed, titled and dated on reverse. Provenance: The Artist; Private Collection, Chicago, IL (circa 2010).
Born 1941 in Joliet, Illinois, Stanley Dean Edwards moved to Chicago early in life to pursue his life as an artist. His mother was a Chicago public school teacher, and his father was a Methodist minister. He studied painting and design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), receiving a BFA in 1967. While at SAIC, Edwards was influenced by Vera Berdich's printmaking classes and Daniel Massen's design classes. After a brief stay in New York (1967-1970), where he was profoundly shaken by urban rioting and general upheaval of this time, Edwards returned to Chicago and later set up a studio in the Pilsen Neighborhood.
Edwards is primarily a figurative painter whose work is informed by both Surrealism and Constructivism. Early hard-edge paintings from the mid-1960's feature a series of screaming babies set in brightly colored environments. These works offer religious suggestions, as the infants are paired with ecclesiastical figures presented atop an altar. Other protagonists of his series include dogs and faceless men. (1)
In the early 1960's, Stan Edwards was part of a diverse group of artists that included George Kokines, Ray Siemanowski, Michael Hurson and Peter Holbrook among others. These artists and Edwards were part of that decade's vanguard and their work was included in an exhibition titled, "Twelve Chicago Artists" at the Walker Art Center. The curator was Jan Van der Marck.
Edwards called his paintings of babies, dogs and erotic torsos from that period "image painting" because they were taken not from the model stand but cast off photo images.
One painting from this period, Infant in Altar IV, is a 60" x 60" an oil and acrylic painting and was loaned by the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian to the Museum of Contemporary Art for its fifty year retrospective titled, "Art in Chicago, 1945 to 1995." The painting is part of the Martha Jackson memorial collection at the National Museum of American Art. (2.)
Recent paintings, which Edwards calls "Icons for a New Era: Assembled Art Imagery," feature iconic images composed of items from popular culture; witty titles often allude to the materials from which they were made. The found objects, vibrant colors, and slick presentations of his works indicate their relationship to and a continuation of Pop art. Both humorous and sinister, Edwards' paintings reflect the psychological uneasiness associated with the close of the twentieth century. (3.)
One painting of this series titled Surveyor is a 66" x 60" oil and acrylic painting and appears in the book Humor in Art by Nicholas Roukes, published by Davis Inc. The book is widely used as a text for art and design projects. (4.)
In October of 2002 Edwards presented a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Illinois Institute of Art where he taught art and design in the foundation program. His lecture and exhibition were presented as part of "Chicago Artist's Month" sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago. In 2004 Edwards completed a major commission for the new Veterans' Administration building in Chicago. The commission centered on patriotic themes and one large 6 and 1/2' x 10' painting is dedicated to prisoners of war. Five others are 48" x 48" and depict the military branch seals, and four paintings 32" x 32" are based on 19th century patriotic engravings.
Stan Edwards, who retired from the Illinois Institute of Art in 2009, lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Sources:
(2. & 4.) Press release (1. & 3.) "Art in Chicago 1945 1995, MCA.)
COLLECTIONS: Selected corporate & institutional collections
National Museum of American Art/Smithsonian
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Ceco Corporation
Crain Communications
Thrall Railcar Company
American Hospital Association
Plyzynski & Associates, Inc. NYC
North American Jet Corporation
Ball State University
Illinois Institute of Art at Chicago
State University of New York
Harris Bank & Trust
Dallas Theater Center
Electronic Media Magazine
Johnson Controls
Central National Bank of Cleveland
Associates Commercial Corporation
Corporate Art Source
Veterans' Administration Commission, Chicago, 2004 Ten site specific paintings
Siemens Corporation
COLLECTIONS: Selected private collections
Walter & Dawn Clark Netsch
Beatrice "Buddy" Mayer
Douglas Ross
Larry Aronson
Marc & Ilana Platt
Phil & Joan Krone
Craig & Janet Duchossois
Sally Fairweather
Shirley Hardin
Brian Boyer
Pritzker collection
James Speyer collection
Michael Greany
Ed & Lindy Bergman Collection
Leigh Block Collection
Professor Harold Platt
Professors Lew Erenberg & Susan Hirsch
Dr. David Gross
Professor Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi
Dr. Paula Young
Dr. & Mrs. Imre Hidvegi
EXHIBITIONS: Selected exhibitions
Biennial Drawing Exhibition, Art Institute of Chicago, 1962
Momentum II, Lexington Hall, University of Chicago, 1964
The Sunken City Rises, Hermann Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology,1964
Eye on Chicago, Hermann Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1964
29th Corcoran Biennial, 1965, Washington, D.C.
Inaugural exhibition, Fairweather-Hardin, 1965
Society for Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago, 1965
12 Chicago Painters...
Category
1990s Surrealist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Acrylic, Oil
