Zen Minimalist Flowers Etching American Modernist Ed Baynard Pop Art Print
By Ed Baynard
Located in Surfside, FL
ED BAYNARD (American, 1940-2016) Flowers, Flowers in a Vase, Etching. 1979/1980, Hand signed, dated l.r., Hand numbered from small edition 12/24, Dimensions: 23 by 19 in. Framed 25 by 21 in Born in Washington, D.C. in 1940. Raised in Washington, D.C. and newly graduated from high school, he flew to Europe living off and on in Paris and London. During this time, he designed costumes for Jimi Hendrix, worked as a graphic designer for the Beatles as well as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Returning to New York, he dedicated his life to art after a surprise success with his first show in 1971 at the Willard Gallery in NYC. Ed's images are Zen-like in their simplicity and grace rendered in a flat, graphic style that recalls Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. His watercolors are luminous, like the rest of his representations regardless of the medium. The Japanese inspired ukiyo-e style woodblock prints and lithograph works he created at Tyler Graphics in 1980 contain a 20th century "floating world" sensibility. Ed's wish was to bring harmony, color, and a meditative stillness to this chaotic planet. He did so in a gentle and powerful way, always as an expression of his deep gratitude for the love and beauty, friendship, and concerns he held dearest. His first solo exhibition was in 1971 at New York's legendary Willard Gallery on the recommendation of Agnes Martin. Baynard went on to have exhibitions at galleries including Betty Parsons Gallery, New York (1973); Marian Goodman Gallery, New York (1977); John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (1980); and Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York (1980/81).. Baynard manages to retain a simplicity of form inspired by a love of Japanese Woodblock prints. His new works reflect the same poetry of his earlier paintings, retaining his stylized compositions with their Zen like minimalism and Oriental calm, along with a new sense of rhythm and movement. Baynard uses familiar themes such as flowers, plants, pots, and vases, incorporating them into his delicate watercolor still lifes, thus creating stunning visual feasts. He was included in the 1972 Landscape exhibition at MoMA NY alone with other luminaries James Boynton, Christo, Jan Dibbets, Minnie Evans...
American Modern 1980s Art
Etching
