Charles Arnoldi was born in 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. He has become a popular California artist best known for his brightly colored abstract paintings and prints that incorporate the use of wood as an expressive medium, often using tree branches and twigs. Arnoldi lives in Malibu and has had considerable financial success and celebrity attention.
Arnoldi arrived in Southern California in 1965 and spent two years at Ventura Junior College before receiving a full scholarship to the Art Center School in Los Angeles. He only lasted two weeks at his new school before becoming frustrated with limitations imposed upon him as an illustrator. Arnoldi soon enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute and gained immediate recognition for his skill when he received a Los Angeles County Museum of Art talent award.
Arnoldi experimented with various painting techniques and struggled to find a solid interpretation of his artistic vision. He began to use branches and twigs to make up the lines within his paintings — "building" a painting with them. His earliest works were almost classic in their simplicity and shape, resembling woven stick baskets delicately balanced. Arnoldi concentrated on his twig painting for eight years, constructing many different forms, freestanding structures, sticks and string, twigs taped together densely or openly.
In 1977, Arnoldi had one of his small stick structures created in bronze. It was his first metal sculpture, and he found that the metal gave permanence to his wooden structures. In the 1980s color started to become more important to Arnoldi, and he used bright pigments to give even more definition to his three-dimensional pieces. He also started to paint on canvas, always reflecting the elements of his wood paintings.
In 1980, Arnoldi painted his interpretation of the logjam that occurred as a result of the Mount St. Helens volcano eruption. He juxtaposed his earth-toned canvas against a similar painting created entirely of sticks, mimicking the image on the painted canvas. He was constantly redefining his artistic approaches, and in the late 1980s started working with large plywood sheets. He glued the layered sheets together, deconstructed the piece using a chainsaw to cut jagged scars into the wood, and then painted it. He was now involved in a new process of building up and tearing down. His ever-evolving style took yet another direction when he started using heavy blocks of wood brightly painted and mounted on the wall. He made a point of preserving the integrity of wood by not sanding away any exposed grain.
In the 1990s Arnoldi departed from the rigidity of his wood creations by painting on canvas. His paintings from this period are predominantly black and white and display free-flowing organic shapes like twists and loops with a sense of motion not seen before in his work.
Arnoldi's work has been exhibited throughout his career in many solo and group shows. His first one-man show was at the Riko Mizuno Gallery in Los Angeles in 1971 and subsequent solo exhibitions followed at the James Corcoran Gallery in Los Angeles, (1980–85), and the Arts Club of Chicago, Illinois (1986). His group exhibitions include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1983), the Brooklyn Museum (1986) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (1992).
Find original Charles Arnoldi art on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by Joseph Grossman Fine Art)
Charles Arnoldi 'Macchu Picchu 4' Limited Edition, Abstract Signed Print
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Rafael, CA
Charles Arthur Arnoldi (b. 1946) Macchu Picchu 4, 2019 Woodcut in colors on wove paper Edition: 25/30 Signed, editioned, and dated in pencil along lower edge Printed by Peter Kosowicz, Thumbprint Editions, London Published by Harvey Bayer...
Woodcut
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered VII 4/5 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signature...
Offset
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered XXIX 54/115 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signat...
Offset
UNTITLED
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in Portland, ME
Arnoldi, Charles (American, born 1946). UNTITLED. Etching and aquatint in colors, 1982. Edition of 5, printed at Teaberry Press, San Francisco, with their blindstamps, lower left and...
Etching, Aquatint
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered XXVI 10/40 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signat...
Offset
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered VI 6/6 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signature:...
Offset
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered XXIX 12/30 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signatu...
Offset
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered XXVIII 65/115 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Sign...
Offset
Sold|$93
H 23.63 in W 15.75 in
Flirty Young Woman (Cahiers d'art) - Original poster
By Henri Matisse
Located in Paris, IDF
Henri MATISSE (1880-1954) Flirty Young Woman (Cahiers d'art) Original poster High quality offset print Signed in the plate On glossy paper, 60 x 40 cm (23.6 x 15.7 in.) INFORMATION...
Offset
Living Painting - Colour Pochoir
By (after) Sonia Delaunay
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Sonia Delaunay Full-page, colour pochoir after costume designs by Sonia Delaunay Edition 331/500 copies on Velin Aussedat Dimensions: 28.5 x 19.5 cm. From 27 Living Paintings. [Milano, Edizioni del Naviglio, 1969]. Jacques Damase. Robes Poèmes, Introduction. Text by Guillaume Apollinaire and Blaise Cendrars. Sonia Delaunay was known for her vivid use of color and her bold, abstract patterns, breaking down traditional distinctions between the fine and applied arts as an artist, designer and printmaker. Born Sarah Stern on November 14, 1885 in Gradizhsk, Ukraine, she was adopted in 1890 by her maternal uncle, Henri Terk, a lawyer in St. Petersburg, where she grew up, exposed to music and art, and learning several foreign languages. In 1903, she moved to Germany to study drawing with Ludwig Schmidt-Reutler (1863–1909) at the Karlsruhe academy of fine arts; Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951), composer-to-be, was among her classmates there. In 1905, she traveled to Paris where she attended art classes at the Académie de la Palette, learned printmaking from Rudolf Grossman (1889–1941), and met Amédée Ozenfant (1886–1966), André Dunoyer de Segonzac (1884–1974), and Jean-Louis Boussingault (1883–1943). Sonia spent much of her time at exhibitions and galleries in Paris, which showed works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, as well as Les Fauves, Henri Matisse and André Derain. She did, however, maintain contact with Germany, exhibiting at the Galerie Der Sturm, Berlin, in 1913, 1920 and 1921. During her first year in Paris, Sonia met the German collector and art-dealer, Wilhelm Uhde (1874–1947), whom she married on December 5, 1908, and whose Montparnasse gallery, the Galerie Notre-Dame des Champs, showed her first solo exhibition. Through Uhde, Sonia encountered many painters, including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Robert Delaunay (1885–1941). In 1910, Sonia divorced Uhde by mutual agreement, married Delaunay that same year, and gave birth to their son, Charles, in January 1911. Together Sonia and Robert Delaunay pursued the study of color, influenced by theories of Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786–1889). Sonia’s interest in simultaneous contrast, as evidenced in her early collages, book bindings, small painted boxes...
Vellum
$2,805
H 29.93 in W 22.05 in D 0.04 in
Jean Miotte - Abstract Composition - Original Signed Lithograph
By Jean Miotte
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Jean Miotte - Rare Original Signed Lithograph Title: Abstract Composition Dimensions: 76 x 56 cm Edition: 64/99 Signed and Numbered in pencil Jean Miotte, 1926 - 2016 Miotte came o...
Aquatint
Original World Cup USA 94 - Coca Cola Soccer poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original World Cup USA ’94, Coca Cola sponsored vintage poster. Archival linen backed in A- condition, ready to frame. This World Cup ’94 poster is very rarely seen or available....
Offset
Unity of Colors - Original Signed Vintage Poster
By Max Bill
Located in Paris, IDF
Max BILL (1908–1994) Unity of Colors, 2015 Original vintage poster (high-quality four-color process) Signed on the sheet On paper, 75 × 60 cm (29.52 x 23.62 in) INFORMATION: Origin...
Offset
$1,500
H 12 in W 12 in
Agnes Martin Recent Paintings Limited Edition 1977 PACE Gallery invite on vellum
By Agnes Martin
Located in New York, NY
Agnes Martin Recent Paintings, 1977 Offset Lithograph invitation on Vellum 12 × 12 inches Edition of 2000 Unframed This early print is an exhibition invitation to the Pace Gallery's ...
Lithograph, Offset
$800
H 24 in W 17 in
Peter Halley - Boats, Crosses, Trees, Figures, Hand Signed exhibition poster NYC
By Peter Halley
Located in New York, NY
Peter Halley Offset lithograph poster Hand signed in black marker by Peter Halley on the front Provenance: Obtained directly from the artist See photograph of the artist signing post...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,295Sale Price|21% Off
H 29 in W 19.25 in D 1.25 in
Edward Marecak Mid Century Abstract Geometric Woodcut Color Print Fine Art
By Edward Marecak
Located in Denver, CO
This original mid-century woodcut print by Edward Marecak demonstrates the artist’s interest in bold geometry, structured composition, and strong color relationships. The work reflec...
Woodcut
$2,800
H 33.5 in W 23.5 in
Sarah Morris - November 2021, lithograph, with artist signed numbered COA 14/100
By Sarah Morris
Located in New York, NY
Sarah Morris November 2021, 2021 Lithograph on wove paper Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity - hand signed by Sarah Morris (the artist) as well as the head of ICA Editions...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,089
H 24 in W 20 in
Mid Century 1960's Original Geometric Abstract Neon Woodblock Toma Yovanovich
By Toma Yovanovich
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original Mid Century woodblock print titled "Reflections and Images" by American artist Toma Yovanovich. Hand signed in pencil...
Woodcut
$871Sale Price|20% Off
H 24 in W 20 in
Mid Century 1960's Original Colorful Abstract Woodblock Circles Geometric
By Toma Yovanovich
Located in Buffalo, NY
An original Mid Century woodblock print titled "Three Suns" by American artist Toma Yovanovich. Hand signed in pencil and numbered 9 out o...
Woodcut
$750
H 19.5 in W 27 in
Hiroshi Murata Silk Screen Framed Colorful Geometric Print Framed Rare 1970's
By Hiroshi Murata
Located in Buffalo, NY
Artist: Hiroshi Murata Title: Circles Year: circa 1970's Medium: Serigraph, signed and numbered in pencil Paper Size: 19.5 x 27 inches Framed Size: 24.5 x 32
Paper, Screen
Untitled, 89.MP.55
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Charles (Chuck) Arnoldi is a much celebrated contemporary American abstract painter and sculptor. Over the course of his fifty-year career, Arnoldi's work has evolved from a boldly g...
Monoprint
UNTITLED
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in Portland, ME
Arnoldi, Charles (American, born 1946). UNTITLED. Etching and aquatint in colors, 1982. Edition of 5, printed at Teaberry Press, San Francisco, with their blindstamps, lower left and...
Etching, Aquatint
Charles Arnoldi Signed Limited Edition Lithograph
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Rafael, CA
Charles Arthur Arnoldi (b. 1956) Untitled, 2007 Lithograph in colors on wove paper Sheet: 28in H x 25in L Signed, numbered and dated in pencil along lower edge L. P. Edition 1 out of 5 Float mounted and framed under acrylic, 35in. H x 32in. L x 1in W In hues of rich greens and black, this print is exemplary of Arnoldi's 'Arc' series. Claiming, “I’m just trying to make art with some sense of dignity, and honesty, and integrity,” Charles Arnoldi has been blurring the boundaries between painting and sculpture...
Lithograph
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in Santa Monica, CA
WOODCUT on handmade Kinwashi rice paper
Charles Arnoldi, Untitled, Signed Limited Edition Print
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Rafael, CA
Charles Arnoldi Untitled (from Three American Artists) 1982 Etching and aquatint in colors on wove paper, limited edition numbered 50/50. Signed in pencil by the artist on front lower right ‘Arnoldi’ and dated ‘82’. Published by Centrum Press , Port Townsend...
Etching, Aquatint
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered XXIX 14/30 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signatu...
Offset
Untitled
By Charles Arnoldi
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist: Charles Arnoldi (American, born 1931) Title: Untitled Year: 2001 Medium: Off set lithograph Edition: Numbered IV 2/13 in pencil Image size: 17 x 17 inches Signature:...
Offset