Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
American, 1914-1996
Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum; August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was an American art director and graphic designer. He was best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Morningstar, Inc., Westinghouse, ABC, and NeXT. He was one of the first American commercial artists to embrace and practice the Swiss Style of graphic design. Rand was a professor emeritus of graphic design at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where he taught from 1956 to 1969, and from 1974 to 1985. He was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1972.
Though Rand was a recluse in his creative process, doing the vast majority of the design load despite having a large staff at varying points in his career, he was very interested in producing books of theory to illuminate his philosophies. László Moholy-Nagy may have incited Rand's zeal for knowledge when he asked his colleague, at their first meeting, if he read art criticism. Rand said no, prompting Moholy-Nagy to reply "Pity."Steven Heller elaborates on this meeting's impact, noting; "from that moment on, Rand devoured books by the leading philosophers on art, including Roger Fry, Alfred North Whitehead, and John Dewey."These theoreticians would have a lasting impression on Rand's work; in a 1995 interview with Michael Kroeger discussing, among other topics, the importance of Dewey's Art as Experience, Rand elaborates on Dewey's appeal:
[... Art as Experience] deals with everything — there is no subject he does not deal with. That is why it will take you one hundred years to read this book. Even today's philosophers talk about it[.] [E]very time you open this book you find good things. I mean the philosophers say this, not just me. You read this, then when you open this up next year, that you read something new.
Dewey is an important source for Rand's underlying sentiment in graphic design; on page one of Rand's groundbreaking Thoughts on Design, the author begins drawing lines from Dewey's philosophy to the need for "functional-aesthetic perfection" in modern art. Among the ideas Rand pushed in Thoughts on Design was the practice of creating graphic works capable of retaining recognizable quality even after being blurred or mutilated, a test Rand routinely performed on his corporate identities. From: Wikipediato
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
5
668
573
343
318
2
Artist: Paul Rand
Asian Calligraphic Shapes Over Biomorphic Forms
By Paul Rand
Located in Miami, FL
Legendary Graphic designer Paul Rand was also a Fine Artist/Painter. In the present work, " Untitled: Asian Calligraphic Shapes Over Biomorphic Forms," Paul explores the relationship...
Category
1950s Minimalist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
Untitled, Cat and Rooster
By Paul Rand
Located in Miami, FL
The work represents a wide eye cat staring at a rooster. The work is as simple as it's complex. The negative space is as important as the positive space. It's as sophisticated as it'...
Category
1940s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Pencil
Related Items
Vintage Koi Abstract Original Painting
Located in Soquel, CA
Evocative and dramatic acrylic painting of abstracted Koi fish titled "Symbiosis" that's a masterful blend of motion and objects. Circa 1980. Unframed, by Chaquille (American, 20th c...
Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
Blue & Grey Green Plan: Abstract Geometric Framed Painting in Cool Toned Palette
By Donise English
Located in Hudson, NY
Abstract geometric painting with a cool toned palette of green, blue, and grey with accents of black and white against a sea foam green colored acrylic wash background
"Blue and Grey Green Plan" made by Hudson Valley artists, Donise English, in 2022
Graphite, colored pencil, and acrylic painting on vellum
24 x 18 inches unframed, 31 x 25 x 1.5 with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and simple black moulding
Signed, verso
Excellent condition and ready to hang
This abstract geometric painting on vellum was made by Hudson Valley based artist, Donise English, in 2022. The composition begins with a blue green toned background of acrylic wash. A grid of box-like patterns in sky blue, green, grey, and black with white line work are stacked to create an irregular shape or an "imagined city grid", says the artist. The painting on vellum is complemented by a simple black frame with an 8-ply white mat, non-glare plexi, and wire backing. It's in excellent condition and ready to hang.
About the artist:
Donise English emphasizes lines, grids, and fields of subtle color to evoke imagined places and invented structures. While precise lines and straight angles are often associated with themes in architecture and urban planning designs, English conveys a geometric motif guided by intuition rather than a ruler. Variations on grids retain flaws and unmistakable traces of the artists’ hand; her style of draftsmanship shies away from intellectualism and instead makes her compositions feel very personal. A central checkerboard formation floats over a ground of pastel color or washes of grey or cream. Each design is intensely intricate, incorporating gouache, acrylic, pen, graphite, ink and colored pencil. The artist recently retired from her decades career teaching at Marist College and is now devoted full time to her art making.
Artist Statement:
My work is about the way visual diagrams present information that describes how something is made or the way it is. I am interested in drawing and collaging multiple layers of information that refer abstractly to maps, architectural drawings and blueprints or patterns and structures found in such things as roller coasters, power lines and fences. I use gouache and collaged paper in a series of layers that are a visual and ideological response to the previous layer to define my pictorial space. For each piece I create a set of rules to follow about the use of a limited palette, a grid format, opacity of paper and whether a piece may include curving lines or maintain a rectilinear structure.
Artist CV:
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts in Painting
Bard College 1986
Bachelor of Science in Art History
State University College at New Paltz 1977
Additional Study: New York Studio School (Drawing Marathons)
Columbia University, School of Architecture
Women’s Studio Workshop
TEACHING
Professor of Studio Art, Department of Art and Art History, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Coordinator, Interior Design Program, Florence, Italy campus
1992-present
AWARDS
NYFA Fellowship in Painting 2018
Invitational Award for Outstanding Contemporary Talent,
University of Bridgeport, CT 2000
Purchase Prize, “11th National Juried Exhibition”
College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore 1999
First Prize, “Women in the Visual Arts ‘95”
Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT 1995
Joseph A. Cain Memorial Purchase Award for Sculpture
Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX 1994
Honorable Mention, “National Juried Exhibition”
University of Bridgeport, CT 1993
Individual Artists Fellowship in Sculpture
Dutchess Arts Fund 1992/93
Tallix, Morris, Singer Internship in Sculpture
Tallix Foundry, Beacon, NY 1990/91
MEMBERSHIP Royal British Society of Sculptors
SELECTED JURIED/INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2020
“edu: Art Faculty of the Hudson Valley”, Hudson Valley MOCA, Peekskill, NY
2019
“Contemporary Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Mixed Media”, SITE Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2018
“JuxtaPositions”, The Painting Center, New York, NY
“Peculiar Rarities”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
2017
“Interlock: Color and Contrast in Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Donise English: Encaustics”, Catskill Art Society, Livingston Manor, NY
2016
“Let’s Stay in Touch”, Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD
“Under, Over, After Over”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
2015
“Off the Grid”, Arts & Culture Program, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY
“Gridspace”, KMOCA, Kingston, NY
“Abstraction”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Assuming Identity”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY
2013
“Modern Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region”, The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY
Stone Canoe/Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, NY
2012
New York Institute of Technology, New York, NY
“Contemporary Painters (Who Just Happen To Be Women)”,
Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Strange Glue: Collage at 100”, Cambridge School, Weston, MA
“Dear Mother Nature”, Dorsky Museum, SUNY New Paltz, NY
“Fresher Paint”, Rockland Center for the Arts, Nyack, NY
Courthouse Gallery, Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY
2011
“Process+Content: Donise English”, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY “Donise English-Paintings”,Orange County Community College,
Newburgh, NY
“Gender Matters/Matters of Gender”, Freedman Gallery,
Albright College, Reading, PA
2010
Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Encaustics: Wax and Image”, Westchester Community College,
White Plains, NY
“Dots, Lines and Figures”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Spring Awakening”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY
“Clay City Dreams”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY
“Texture,Pattern, Fragment”, Krause Gallery, Moses Brown School,
Providence, RI
2009
“Collage”, NY Institute of Technology, New York, NY
“Working in Wax”, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
“Encaustic 2009”, College of New Rochelle, NY
“Three Artists”, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
“Convergence: The Human Experience”,Howard County Center for the Arts, MD
2008
“Suckers and Biters: Love, Lollipops, and Exquisite Corpse”
Chashama Gallery, New York, NY
Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson NY
2007
“Patterns and Light”, Blue Hill Gallery, Blue Hill, ME
“Suckers and Biters”, AG Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2006
“100 Artists, 100 Watercolors”, Jeannie Freilich Fine Art,
New York, NY
“On/Of Paper”,Kirkland Art Center, Clinton, NY
“The Love Show”, Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT
2005
The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN
“Small Tales”, Valdosta State University, Georgia
National Juried Exhibition,Art Institute and Gallery
Salisbury, MD, Juror: Stephen Haller
“Greed, Envy, Jealousy, Fear”, TSL Warehouse, Hudson, NY
2004
“Women in the Middle: Borders, Barriers, Intersections”
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
“Girl Art Now”,Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI
3 Person Exhibition, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA
“The Feminine Eye”, Bradley University, Peoria, IL “Women Painting Women”, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA “Thought Patterns”, Kent Place Gallery, Summit, NJ “Surface, Matter and Artifice”, Dutchess Community College Art Gallery
Poughkeepsie, NY
2003
“Beefcake/Cheesecake”,Orange County Center for Contemporary Art,
Santa Ana, CA,Juror: Jamie Wilson, Curator
Halpert Bienniel, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
Juror: Jeff Fleming, Senior Curator, Des Moines Art Center “The Great White Oak”, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY
2002
“Cat Calls”, Red Clay Arts, Brooklyn
“Hudson Valley Regional”, SUNY New Paltz
Juror: Sydney Jenkins, Director, Ramapo College Art Galleries
2001
One-Person Exhibition, Davis and Hall Gallery, Hudson, NY “Beyond the Surface”, Womanmade Gallery, Chicago
One-Person Exhibition, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY
2000
“Vision 2000...
Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Gouache, Archival Paper, Color Pencil, Graphite
Celestial Dance
Located in THOMERY, FR
Immerse yourself in the ethereal world of Celestial Dance, a striking piece from my Biostellaires series. This artwork captures a suspended moment where a shimmering hummingbird glid...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Mod Abstract Expressionist Modernist Oil Painting Dog Drawing Edward Avedisian
By Edward Avedisian
Located in Surfside, FL
Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 )
7.5 X 5.75
Oil paint on wood panel
This is not signed on front. It bears his name verso.
Provenance: Hudson, N.Y. estate of noted Art Collector Albert...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood Panel, Graphite
Original-Blue Cat-Gold Leaf- British Awarded Artist-surreal-expression-abstract
Located in London, GB
Primary Colour Series- Blue Cat is inspired by Japanese woodblock Print and the a nod to calligraphy tradition. With strokes of gilded gold leaves, gesso and acrylic, Shizico Yi pain...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Gold Leaf
H 23.63 in W 15.75 in D 0.16 in
Equine Heart Chakra
By Rocky Hawkins
Located in Bozeman, MT
Enthralled with the lore and spirituality of American Indian cultures, his work often depicts these traditional subjects in nontraditional ways. Hawkins captures the raw sense of ele...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic
Quintessence, Power, Freedom, Abstract, Rhino, Africa, Geometric, Color, Invest
By Karnish Art
Located in Cullinan, ZA
Title: Quintessence of Power and Freedom
Abstract, Rhino, Africa, Geometric, Color, Invest, Bold, Statement, Tree-of-life, One-of-a-kind, Original, Authentic
In this painting, I've...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
H 27.56 in W 35.44 in D 1.78 in
Potentiality - Africa Sunshine Rhino Power Colorful Exclusive Investment Modern
By Karnish Art
Located in Cullinan, ZA
Title: Potentiality
Africa Sunshine Rhino Power Colorful Exclusive Investment Modern
Potentiality: "Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success."...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Pastel, Oil, Acrylic
H 33.47 in W 46.86 in D 0.79 in
Blue Twisting Grid (Abstract Geometric Work on Paper, Custom Light Wood Frame)
By Donise English
Located in Hudson, NY
Abstract drawing on paper in light sky blue, black and white with custom light wood frame
'Blue Twisting Grid' by Donise English
30 x 22 inches unframed, 37 x 29 inches custom frame ...
Category
2010s Abstract Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Gouache, Archival Paper, Graphite
Over the Rainbow-Bridge Large Expressionistic Abstract Colorful Horse Painting
By Karnish Art
Located in Cullinan, ZA
Title: The Guardians over the Rainbow-Bridge
Large artwork with horse in blue.
This strikingly beautiful artwork by Karnish, depicts abundance, the spirit of the horse and absolute ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Oil, Acrylic
H 39.38 in W 47.25 in D 0.99 in
Micro Gouache and Pencil Abstract Painting Bill Shields
Located in Arp, TX
Bill Shields
"Micro Gouache and Pencil Abstract"
1990's
Gouache and pencil on board
Site measures 4.5"x4" silver wavy wood float mount 13.5"x12.75"
Unsigned came from artist's estate...
Category
1990s Abstract Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Board, Pencil, Gouache
H 12.75 in W 13.5 in D 1 in
Balancing Act 3 (Abstract Painting)
By Tracey Adams
Located in London, GB
Balancing Act 3 (Abstract Painting)
Gouache, graphite and ink on Rives paper. Unframed.
Balancing Act 3 is part of a series of works on paper started in 2016.
They are created in the evenings and aptly named after busy days of teaching and other responsibilities.
The artist establishes parameters involving the use of a particular palette, certain mark-making gestures and amount of time spent on each drawing.
This work incorporates graphite, ink, and gouache, and is a combination of intuition-based and planned execution.
Tracey Adams is an American abstract painter and printmaker. Her artworks reflect a strong interest in musical patterns, rhythms, lyrical compositional elements and what she calls a sense of performance. She lives and works in Carmel, California.
Work by Adams is part of the permanent collections of several museums, including the Bakersfield Art Museum, the Monterey Museum of Art, the Fresno Art Museum, the Tucson Art...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink, Gouache, Graphite
Paul Rand abstract paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Paul Rand abstract paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Paul Rand in acrylic paint, paint, pencil and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1940s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Paul Rand abstract paintings, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Melville Price, Carl Holty, and Amaranth Ehrenhalt. Paul Rand abstract paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $22,000 and tops out at $22,000, while the average work can sell for $22,000.
Artists Similar to Paul Rand
Questions About Paul Rand Abstract Paintings
- 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 19, 2025Opinions may vary on what Paul Rand's most famous work is. However, the American artist is best known for his corporate logos. Over the course of his career, he designed iconic graphics for IBM, UPS, Enron, Morningstar, Inc., Westinghouse, ABC and NeXT, among others. Explore a variety of Paul Rand art on 1stDibs.