Paul M. Levy

Pop Art 1970s Vintage Silkscreen Screen Print Street Signs Titled Calendar

1975

Allan D'Arcangelo (American/New York, 1930-1998), "Aspen Center of Contemporary Art", 1967 silkscreen, hand signed in pencil, dated, numbered "45/200" and blind stamped "Chiron Press, New York, NY" 32 in. x 24 in. Allan D'Arcangelo (1930-1998) was an American artist and printmaker, best known for his paintings of highways and road signs that border on pop art and minimalism, precisionism, Abstract illusionism and hard-edge painting, and also surrealism. His subject matter is distinctly American and evokes, at times, a cautious outlook on the future of this country. Allan D'Arcangelo was the son of Italian immigrants. He studied at the University of Buffalo from 1948–1953, where he got his bachelor's degree in history. After college, he moved to Manhattan and picked up his studies again at the New School of Social Research and the City University of New York, City College. At this time, he encountered Abstract Expressionist painters who were in vogue at the moment. After joining the army in the mid 1950s, he used the GI Bill to study painting at Mexico City College from 1957–59, driving there over 12 days in an old bakery truck retrofitted as a camper. However, he returned to New York in 1959, in search of the unique American experience. It was at this time that his painting took on a cool sensibility reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. His interests engaged with the environment, anti-Vietnam War protests, and the commodification and objectification of female sexuality. D'Arcangelo first achieved recognition in 1962, when he was invited to contribute an etching to The International Anthology of Contemporary Engraving: America Discovered; his first solo exhibition came the next year, at the Thiebaud Gallery in New York City. In 1965 he contributed three screenprints to Original Edition's 11 Pop Artists portfolio. By the 1970s, D'Arcangelo had received significant recognition in the art world. He was well known for his paintings of quintessentially American highways and infrastructure, and in 1971 was commissioned by the Department of the Interior to paint the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. However, his sense of morality always trumped his interest in art world fame. In 1975, he decided to quit the gallery that had been representing him for years, Marlborough Gallery, because of the way they handled Mark Rothko legacy. D'Arcangelo rejected Abstract Expressionism, though his early work has a painterly and somewhat expressive feel. He quickly turned to a style of art that seemed to border on Pop Art and Minimalism, Precisionism and Hard-Edge painting. Evidently, he didn't fit neatly in the category of Pop Art, though he shared subjects (women, signs, Superman) and techniques (stencil, assemblage) with these artists.He turned to expansive, if detached scenes of the American highway. These paintings are reminiscent of Giorgio de Chirico-though perhaps not as interested in isolation-and Salvador Dali-though there is a stronger interest in the present and disinterest in the past. These paintings also have a sharp quality that is reminiscent of the precisionist style, or more specifically, Charles Sheeler. 1950s, Before D'Arcangelo returned to New York, his style was roughly figurative and reminiscent of folk art. During the early 1960s, Allan D'Arcangelo was linked with Pop Art. "Marilyn" (1962) depicts an illustrative head and shoulders on which the facial features are marked by lettered slits to be "fitted" with the eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth which appear off to the right in the composition. In "Madonna and Child," (1963) the featureless faces of Jackie Kennedy and Caroline are ringed with haloes, enough to make their status as contemporary icons perfectly clear. Select Exhibitions: Fischbach Gallery, New York, Ileana Sonnabend Gallery, Paris, Gallery Müller, Stuttgart, Germany Hans Neuendorf Gallery, Hamburg, Germany Dwan Gallery...

Paul Levy (American, b. 1944) An established designer and illustrator, Paul M. Levy was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944. He received his B.S. in Industrial Design from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1968, returning later to do independent study there. He also did independent study at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, in 1969 and received an M.F.A. in Sculpture and Printmaking from Ohio University, Athens. From 1964 through 1971 he worked for design firms in Ohio, New York and California. From 1971 through 1973 he taught at the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University, Athens. He has exhibited in galleries, museums and art groups. In 1971 he was one of a number of artists who created enormous outdoor murals in a Cincinnati project called "Urban Walls." His graphic designs and illustrations for such firms as Container Corporation of America have appeared in publications such as Fortune, Business Week...

Modern Photography Cover , August 1978 This image is signed, dated and numbered 2/15 lower right recto. Other sizes are available. Printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art paper . The work is ...

Artist: Allan D'Arcangelo, American (1930 - 1998) Title: June Year: 1969 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 6/100 Size: 14 x 12 in. (35.56 x 30.48 cm) Frame: ...