Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Unknown
“Harbor Stories: The Pulse of Pier 12” Continuous Narrative Acrylic Painting

1960s

About the Item

“Harbor Stories: The Pulse of Pier 12” illustrates a dynamic specific to narrative painting, embodying a visual crossroads of individual and collective stories within an effervescent maritime environment. The artist, who has voluntarily chosen anonymity, is a novelist in images and a master in the orchestration of hues, movements, and components. Looking more closely, the artist's technique deserves significant study. The application of colors, the subtle transition from shadow to light, and the strokes create a dynamic feeling of enthusiasm, with the appearance of a mountain in the background. The not at all randomly chosen hues contribute to building a particular perception of this port scene. Pier 12 presents itself as a vibrant microcosm where each aspect and element tells its tale. The port and maritime scene described by the artist is a harmonious intermingling of workers, strollers, and tourists. The artist sets the pace and takes us through contextual stories between the shots and the silhouettes, tinged with a palette of vivid colors that pulse with intense energy. While one might think this is merely a sketch trapped in time, the reality is quite different. This wide shot of Pier No. 12 is full of details. The characters are busy, and they are in action. Others observe. The references to professional practices, the uploading of goods, painters refreshing a fairing, the barrels that porters roll, and the ships of different sizes, cruise, and cargo—small tourist craft, fisherman’s boat, trawler, etc.—are all elements of a bygone era that find their place in the present. The cohabitation of the characters is significant. Sailors, painters, tourists, and craftsmen live their daily lives in parallel, sometimes ignoring each other, sometimes sharing a fragment of a moment. Behind the colorful, organically liveness and explicit description, a more profound meaning emerges through this mosaic, revealing the singularity of the human experience. The unsaid, such as the working conditions of the workers or the social relations between the protagonists, challenge the viewer to scrutinize all the subtle implications to grasp the message fully conveyed. In “Port Stories: The Pulse of Pier 12,” the artist engages in a dialogue between past and present, work and leisure, colors and shadows. He could have chosen to paint around ten artworks to reach this quality of narrative, but he opted to integrate many stories into a single painting as if it were a fresco. Narrative painting, in its complexity and diversity, where each brushstroke and color carries a story, will offer freedom to open exploration channels for the observer, the historian, and the aesthete.
  • Creation Year:
    1960s
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 49 in (124.46 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Pasadena, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU654314669282

More From This Seller

View All
Post-Modern Mannequin Acrylic Painting on Wood Panel
Located in Pasadena, CA
Fragmented body and articulated silhouette in this unsigned acrylic on plywood. The female figure is reduced to a system of disconnected white segments and red circles — like a puppe...
Category

Late 20th Century Post-Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

Acrylic Portrait series #1 by Albert Radoczy
By Albert Radoczy
Located in Pasadena, CA
In this minimalist acrylic portrait , Albert Radoczy deploys an aesthetic where simplicity becomes not only elegance, but also a form of plastic manifesto. Far from demonstrative exc...
Category

1960s Neo-Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Girl At Her Dressing Table" Modern Acrylic on Canvas by Bob Novak
Located in Pasadena, CA
Through singular facial analysis, the artist dissolves the traditional concept of perspective, presenting the central figure with a multiplication of contours. The main subject, like...
Category

1980s Post-Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Colorful Acrylic Modern Primitive Portrait by Edward Lewis
By Edward Lewis
Located in Pasadena, CA
Born in Rollis, Minnesota, the Colorist Edward R. Lewis enjoyed a long career as a painter, prolific in watercolor, oil, and acrylic. He also dedicated his life to teaching the arts and spent the majority of his artistic career as an art professor holding positions at Sioux Falls College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and at Central Missouri State University (now the University of Central Missouri) in Warrensburg, Missouri. His vibrant canvases often ask the viewer to make a quantum leap...
Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Red and Green Woven Self Portrait by Richard Proctor #3
Located in Pasadena, CA
This unique artwork by Richard Proctor is part of a series of 3 (see last pictures and other listings). It is a self-portrait repeated 3 times in diffe...
Category

Mid-20th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Panel, Acrylic, Fabric

"LIFE and DEATH of a Yellow Popsicle" Acrylic Painting by Mark Brennan
By Christopher Mark Brennan
Located in Pasadena, CA
With "Yellow Popsicle", Brennan creates a visually striking acrylic painting that elevates an everyday object to a new singular level of precision and questioning paying homage to Ph...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Pop Art Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Paper

You May Also Like

Golfer Swinging, Vintage 7 Up Ad "Get Real Action" in Green and Yellow - Golf
By Bob Peak
Located in Miami, FL
This strobe-like dynamic composition with bright and bold colors reflects the energetic taste of the 7 Up brand. It lies somewhere between abstraction and figuration. Peaks' use of b...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Illustration Board

Laughing Woman
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant portrait of a laughing woman by Chelsea Frost. Executed in a fauvist style, this piece is bright and highly saturated. The woman is framed very ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Fiberboard

Torso No. 5, Mid-Century Figural Abstract Acrylic Painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Torso No. 5, 1967 Acrylic on paper Signed and dated upper right 25 x 20 inches A mid-century figural abstract painting. Clarence Hol...
Category

1960s American Modern Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Chimeras, mid-century figural abstract blue acrylic painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Chimeras, 1974 Acrylic and pastel on textured paper Mid-century figural abstract blue acrylic painting Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that w...
Category

1970s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Acrylic

Medieval Heads, mid-century figural surrealist acrylic painting
By Clarence Holbrook Carter
Located in Beachwood, OH
Clarence Holbrook Carter (American, 1904-2000) Cicada, c. 1960s Watercolor on scintilla 30 x 20 inches Clarence Holbrook Carter achieved a level of national artistic success that wa...
Category

1960s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Large-Scale Abstract Expressionist Figurative Couple
By Julius Wasserstein
Located in Soquel, CA
A striking large-scale abstract expressionist figurative acrylic on canvas by Bay Area artist Julius Wasserstein (American, 1924-1985). Two abstracted figures, a man in a suit and a woman in a blue wedding dress...
Category

1980s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars

Recently Viewed

View All