Ezio Martinelli

"Pen and Ink Interior" Pen and Ink Abstract on Paper

1953

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY This monochrome abstract work by M. Saffell Gardner is a sumi ink on watercolor paper piece that evokes the feelings of a dark American po...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Falling Squares" is a rich gouache painting by William Antonow. Though the colors are muted they blend in a harmony that contrasts slightly with the falling squares that bring a movement to the piece. One of the original Cass Corridor artists from the 1960s William Antonow studied at the School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College for Creative Studies) and at Wayne State University, where he received his BFA (1967) and MA (1970.) Other well-known individuals who taught or studied at Wayne State University and are connected with the arts are Arthur Danto, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Susan Aaron-Taylor, Tyree Guyton, Hughie Lee-Smith, Philip Levine, Casey Kasem, Helen Thomas, Sergio DeGuisti, Stanley Rosenthal...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Animal Spirit I" is a dynamic expression of McGee's mythical animal spirits. Hand signed and dated lower right front and on the verso signed and titled. Painting and mixed media present a complex scene that incorporates use of graphite and acrylic paint on thick handmade paper. Michelle Oka Doner was invited to participate in McGee's studio in the early 1980s and brought her handmade paper skills to share engaging McGee in this creative pursuit. McGee continued to develop these spiritual creatures throughout his career as can be seen in a piece from 1984, "Noah's Ark: Genesis, 1984," on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, his brilliant 2005 "Progression" a 45-foot wide aluminum sculpture at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, and his stunning 2016 "United We Stand" sculpture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History . His genius can be seen in sculpture installments throughout the city of Detroit. "Animal Spirit I" is signed and dated lower right. Charles McGee was born into a family of sharecroppers. While helping his grandfather tend the land, "he observed firsthand the order and harmony that exists within nature." He had no formal schooling until moving to Detroit at age 10, where he found that "everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet." in 2017 he observed, "I learned something not being in school — because life is school . . .I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.” McGee took advantage of the GI Bill to attend classes at the Society of Arts and Crafts, now the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI. Other College for Creative Studies faculty and graduates include Richard Jerzy, Harry Bertoia, Doug Chaing (currently director of Lucas Film), Stephen Dinehart (game maker, writer, designer connected with The David Lynch Foundation), Tyree Guyton (international artist), Herb Babcock , Jerome Feretti, Kevin Siembieda (writer, designer and publisher of role-playing games), Renee Radell (American Expressionist formerly from Detroit and New York), Philip Pearlstein, Charles McGee (nationally recognized African American sculptor of animal and dancing spirits), Philip Pearlstein (2000 Honorary Doctorate, Modern Realism style), John Louis Krieger (American Modern) and William Girard (American Modern.) After retiring from the Corps of Engineers, McGee spent 1968 studying art in Barcelona. Despite not knowing the language at the outset, he immersed himself in the culture and opened himself to a whole new range of experience that would play out in his artwork. "If you free yourself, you have this kind of opportunity to have those experiences, horizons, and new vistas." (per interview with Nick Sousanis. He returned to Detroit and curated "Seven Black Artists" at the Detroit Artists Market in 1969, which along with McGee himself, included Lester Johnson, Henri Umbaji King, Robert Murray, James Lee, Allie McGhee...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Untitled #34” was created by Sam Gilliam, one of the great innovators in postwar American painting. It is dated and signed on the lower front. The thick handmade paper is rich with folds and texture and the colors lively. In addition to Acrylic paint on the surface there appears to be imbedded color in the handmade paper which has additional embossed accents. Unframed the piece measures 16 x 14. Provenance of Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan is on the verso along with the note that the Paper Surfaces in contact with this artwork are acid free. In the mid-1960s he emerged from the Washington D.C. scene with works that elaborated upon and disrupted the ethos of Color School painting. A series of formal breakthroughs would soon result in his canonical Drape paintings, which expanded upon the tenets of Abstract Expressionism in entirely new ways. One profound manner was the sculpture aspect of the painting giving it a free flowing expression of pure color. In the latter half of the 1950s, Washington D.C. saw a flourishing of abstract art that emphasized the form-making capabilities of pure color. Known as The Washington Color School, the loosely affiliated group of abstract painters knew each other through various teaching experiences. The moniker has an uncertain origin but likely originated with the title of a 1965 exhibition at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, "Washington Color Painters," curated by Gerald Nordland. The show exhibited the works of Kenneth Noland, Paul Reed, Morris Louis, Howard Mehring, Thomas Downing, and Gene Davis. Additionally, Leon Berkowitz...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Geostructure IX" is an intensely colorful painting of the primary shapes of the circle, square, and triangle. Though the shapes are repetitive their mixed juxtapositions and the creative use of color moves the eye around the canvas with constant interest. This painting is an extraordinary example of Franklin Jonas...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Obturator Fascia" is a contemporary oil painting depicting relationships between nature, science, technology, and pattern that has always fascinated Brian. A sister piece that is strongly similar, "Epithelium", is owned by The Detroit Institute of Arts. Brian Fekete is an American visual artist, formerly a Brooklyn expat, now living and working in the Mid-Hudson Valley. He received his BFA and MFA from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. Other well-known individuals who taught or studied at Wayne State University and are connected with the arts are Arthur Danto, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Susan Aaron-Taylor, Tyree Guyton, Hughie Lee-Smith, Philip Levine, Casey Kasem, Helen Thomas, Sergio DeGuisti, Stanley...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. Hugely inspired by Paula Rego, Isabel Rock is part of a formidable group of women artists (Leonora Carrington and Eileen Agar amongst others) working with Surrealism. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. Hugely inspired by Paula Rego, Isabel Rock is part of a formidable group of women artists (Leonora Carrington and Eileen Agar amongst others) working with Surrealism. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative takes the audience on a journey into the imagination. In October 2023 Isabel won the Evelyn Williams...

Isabel Rock is a creator of contemporary fairy tales. A graduate of the Royal College of Art in London, her work is an explosion of strange occurrences while a surreal narrative take...