Frank Shifreen
Abstract Composition with Red
2013

About the Item

These new works start from polar opposite impulses which juxtapose the purity and beauty of platonic forms opposed to impulsive muscular instantaneous painting. Shifreen internalizes the historical post-war art battles between the New York abstract expressionists like Dekooning Motherwell, and Franz Kline and the suprematists schools championed by Albers, Newman, and Rothko. Ruminating on these styles Shifreen asks questions from the process, the medium, and his audience in order to further develop the discourse of abstract painting. Although non-representational a hidden mysterious figurative element lurks in the paintings, and recalls the masters of the renaissance era which stated that wo/man is the measure of all things. Humanism in the paintings is something that Shifreen will not allow to be extinguished. Stating that, “pure abstraction without the human measure is anti-life and inadvertently fascist”. These exciting new works are combined into larger groupings which add to the din of greater conversation. The paintings talk, shout, rumble and laugh in conversation with the viewer. Frank Shifreen, is an American artist, curator, and educator, born 1948. Based in New York City, Shifreen is a neo-expressionist painter and multi-media artist. A graduate of the Pratt Institute and Adelphi University he is currently finishing a doctorate at the Teachers College at Columbia University where he is writing his dissertation on independent artists creating autonomous zones outside of traditional art institutions. Shifreen, a longtime resident of lower Manhattan played a significant role in the New York art movements of the early 1980’s by organizing massive artist-run exhibitions in Gowanus, Brooklyn including the The Monumental Shows, Brooklyn Bridge Centennial, and Terminal Show. His work has been exhibited internationally, most recently presenting solo painting exhibitions in Paris and Luxembourg.

Creator:
Frank Shifreen (1948, American)
Creation Year:
2013
Dimensions:
Height: 48 in (121.92 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: G14010532699
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