Items Similar to The Three Fates Thinking Mysterious Thoughts, Semi-Abstract Cubist Female Heads
- Want more images or videos?Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 14
Edward MarecakThe Three Fates Thinking Mysterious Thoughts, Semi-Abstract Cubist Female Heads1987
1987
$1,895
About
The Three Fates Thinking Mysterious Thoughts, vintage semi-abstract painting by Edward Marecak (1919-1993). Three heads in a somewhat cubist style are painted in bright colors of yellow, orange, green, blue, pink, purple and fuchsia. Presented in a vintage frame measuring 24 ⅞ x 30 ⅜ x ⅞ inches. Image size is 18 ¼ x 24 inches.
Provenance: Estate of Edward Marecak
Biography:
Many who took art classes in Denver high schools fondly remember the legendary Edward Marecak. Rather than pursue fame, this prolific artist directed his zeal toward fostering younger generations in the principles of art as well as his simple philosophies. Moreover, his teaching salary allowed him to ply his prodigious talent at whatever he pleased, instead of bending to the dictates of trends and sales. Having inherited his faith in education from his Slovakian immigrant parents, Marecak could add the shaping of lives to his mastery of art forms, including lithographs, monoprints, drawings, hooked rugs, ceramics, paintings, wood sculptures, stained-glass windows, and jewelry. While exhibiting in his lifetime, he was, in his wife’s words, “his own greatest collector,” but recent shows and his popularity at the Kirkland Museum have positioned Marecak posthumously among Colorado’s preeminent modernists.
Growing up in the farming community of Brunswick, Ohio, he showed early artistic promise, hired by the National Youth Adminstration to document historic barns. Study began in earnest at the Cleveland Institute of Art and then Cranbrook, only to be interrupted by service in World War II as an Army ski trooper in the Aleutians where he was badly wounded. In 1946, Marecak came to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center for a year and after a semester interlude at Cranbrook returned to study lithography with Lawrence Barrett. There he also met his future wife and sometime collaborator, ceramicist Theresa Madonna (Donna) Fortin. Given the opportunity to teach a summer course at the University of Colorado, he decided to obtain a teaching certificate at the University of Denver and subsequently embarked on his twenty-five-year career in the Denver Public School system.
As a child, Marecak was enthralled by the Carpathian tales of magic and supernatural beings told by his grandmother. As with other artists with roots in Eastern Europe, his artistic turn to folk tradition would free him from learned practices of perspective and modeling in favor of flat patterns within patterns and brilliant, throbbing color. While others ventured further into abstraction, Marecak stylized figurative elements into crowded compositions that appeared like mosaic or stained glass. As he matured, he could declare, “I am still very much a Byzantine designer and my joy with what color can do grows all the time.” The traceries of strong outlines and bold shapes provide compartments for vibrant colors, contrasts, and rough textures that can scarcely be contained.
Red is the dominant color of his palette. As in Eastern European folk art, it embodies the life-giving force of blood as well as love and passion. If as his wife suspects, Marecak never forgot the brutal cold of the Aleutians, perhaps the blaze of red that distinguishes his artwork may have been a steady fire. Traveling to Colorado for her fashion show in 1966, designer Adele Simpson discovered and bought Marecak’s work, which influenced her next clothing line. Calling her collection “The Art of Living,” she incorporated his ethnic patterning and characteristic “Marecak red” and green, anticipating hippie couture of the late 60s.
Gaining national attention, Marecak was spotted by Hollywood producer Hugh Benson, who sponsored a show off 220 works at Martin Lowitz Gallery, Beverly Hills, in 1968. Bemused by the experience, the artist wrote, “…the scale and style of the production was so wonderfully operatic that I came away delighted and full of chuckles — pink plastic flamingos had nothing on this.” Later his amusement turned to disenchantment, when the gallery owner died and the Marecak’s works were included in the IRS seizure of property. The artist largely withdrew from exhibiting, with a show near the time of his death at Rule Gallery. In his last requests, he asked that his ashes be strewn in his garden around a big peace rose, a variety so-named at the end of WWII and appropriately displaying a golden yellow edged with crimson pink.
Upon closing his Inkfish Gallery in 1997, Paul Hughes, who had previously given Marecak a one-man show, chose to go out with what critic Michael Paglia called a “blaze of glory,” showing the deceased artist work. The Kirkland Museum staged a retrospective of Edward and Donna Marecak in 2007. ©David Cook Galleries, LLC
Details
- CreatorEdward Marecak (1919 - 1993)
- Creation Year1987
- DimensionsHeight: 24.75 in. (62.87 cm)Width: 30.5 in. (77.47 cm)Depth: .75 in. (1.91 cm)
- Medium
- Movement & Style
- Period
- Conditionvery good vintage condition.
- Gallery LocationDenver, CO
- Reference Number
Shipping & Returns
- Shipping$175 Standard Parcel Shippingto anywhere in the world, arrives in 3-5 weeks. We recommend this shipping type based on item size, type and fragility.Ships From: Denver, CO
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
1stDibs Buyer Protection Guaranteed
If your item arrives not as described, we’ll work with you and the seller to make it right. Learn more
About the SellerLocated in Denver, CO
5 / 5
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1979
1stDibs seller since 2013
142 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 6 hours
More From This Seller
- By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COAn original vintage 1967 abstract oil painting by Edward Marecak (1919-1993) portraying Eurydice wandering throu...Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COOriginal oil painting titled "Three Winter Months" by 20th century Colorado artist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993). ...Category
20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COThe Four Winter Months, 1985 original vintage signed framed oil painting by Denver modernist, Edward Marecak (19...Category
20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COOriginal oil painting by 20th century Denver modernist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993). "Witch and Warlock Casting S...Category
20th Century Abstract Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
$3,750 Sale Price36% Off - By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COOriginal painting by 20th century Denver modernist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993). "Prismatic Clocks in the Upside ...Category
1980s Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- By Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COOriginal 1960s abstract still life by mid-century modern Colorado artist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993). Sunflower...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
$5,250 Sale Price30% Off
You May Also Like
Tropical Dream
By Jaena Kwon
Located in New York, NY
Jaena Kwon’s work is concerned with painting components and how painting space is constructed. She treats painting as an image objectified or embedded in physical material. Her works...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Summer Breeze
By Jaena Kwon
Located in New York, NY
Jaena Kwon’s work is concerned with painting components and how painting space is constructed. She treats painting as an image objectified or embedded in physical material. Her works...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Rotation Dream
By Jaena Kwon
Located in New York, NY
Jaena Kwon’s work is concerned with painting components and how painting space is constructed. She treats painting as an image objectified or embedded in physical material. Her works...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Lightening
By Jaena Kwon
Located in New York, NY
Jaena Kwon’s work is concerned with painting components and how painting space is constructed. She treats painting as an image objectified or embedded in physical material. Her works...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Ethics of War, Contemporary Abstract Art Oil Paintings Canvas Black Portrait
By Janet Hagopian
Located in London, England
'Ethics of War' is a graphic contemporary abstract oil painting on canvas by Lebanese artist - Janet Hagopian. Expressionist style of the art piece, its geometric pattern and strong ...
Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Paint, Canvas
Boy in Woods, Contemporary Abstract Art Oil Painting Canvas Blue Expressionist
By Seungyoon Choi
Located in London, England
'Boy in Woods' is a vibrant contemporary abstract expressionist art by South Korean artist, Seungyoon Choi. It is a large oil painting on canvas with a strong blue and white color ae...
Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Storyteller, Contemporary Abstract Portrait Oil Painting Canvas Green Orange
By Janet Hagopian
Located in London, England
'Storyteller' is a vibrant contemporary abstract oil painting on canvas by Lebanese artist - Janet Hagopian. Expressionist style of the art piece, its graphic geometric pattern and p...
Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paint, Oil, Canvas
Luminous 122, Sergey Morshch, Contemporary Abstract Oil Painting, Green Portrait
By Sergey Morshch
Located in London, England
'Luminous 122' by Sergey Morshch - contemporary abstract oil painting focusing on the subject of spiritual connection, relationships and personal growth. The abstract image has some ...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Insured Global Delivery