Audrey E. Gabrielson

1970s Feminist San Francisco Abstract Expressionist Figurative (Two Sided)

1976

Moody figurative abstract expressionist painting of a Victorian couple with an angel by artist David Rosen (American, 1912-2004), c. 1970. Signed "Rosen" lower right. Unframed. Image size: 30.25"H x 26.38"W. Born in 1912, Rosen grew up in Toronto, Canada before pursuing arts in the United States. Upon arriving, Rosen settled in New York City and attended the Cooper Union Art school in 1930. While participating in the Federal Arts Project, he worked for the program's mural department until 1941. He also worked with an artist collective, Siqueiros Art Workshop. There, Rosen met fellow FAP artist Jackson Pollack, and together, with artist Phillip Guston, they experimented with new painting techniques and mediums. Art movements are often reactions to the popular styles that precede them, and Abstract Expressionism applied a new and exciting method to Modern Art. Gradually, artists began to break away from an overly-studied, academic approach to painting and liberated their technique. During these workshops, Rosen was introduced to Pollack's groundbreaking "drip painting" before it changed the art world. As America became involved in World War II, the Federal Arts Project wound down, officially ending in 1942. Around this time, Rosen enlisted as a Merchant Seaman with the U.S Merchant Marines. During this time, he traveled to North Africa and Italy before concluding his service and moving to California where, in 1945, he devoted his full attention to building an art career. Within a couple of years, he landed a major exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1947, and his first one-man show, which opened to rave reviews, was held at Hollywood's Contemporary Art Gallery. The exhibition’s success led to mural commissions from Palm Springs' Hotel del Tahquitz, and he scored more solo shows at West Hollywood's Chabot Gallery. The early 1950s brought a surge of recognition for Rosen's career, and while his work was certainly still influenced by Abstract Expression, his painting style included elements of Surrealism, Figurative Art, and Cubism. Like his colleague Jackson Pollack, Rosen produced work inspired by drip painting; however, rather than splattering, his drips were the natural flow marks from painting freely without regard for "mistakes." Throughout Rosen's long career, he would acquire techniques from vastly different art styles which made for a varied, eclectic catalog of work. Rosen continued to build his California art career and settled at a Laguna Beach art colony in 1958. There, he entered his work in the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and was the first painter to contribute Abstract Art to the event. Rosen would participate in the festival for the next fifteen years. A year after his move, in 1959, Rosen opened his first studio gallery and began a 12-year collaboration with the Laguna Playhouse. For the next two decades, Rosen participated in 17 art exhibitions and 20 solo shows, and received considerable critical praise. Rosen's themes were as varied as his evolving painting style, and one of his themes focused on classic characters like Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rosen's close-up portraits of historical and literary figures, illustrated by the piece To Be or Not to Be: Soliloquy From Hamlet, capture the essence of the characters while remaining loose with the painting and even adding a slight cartoon feel. His ongoing Hamlet series, as a complete collection, makes an impact with the diversity of technique. Unlike the loose style of some of his works, the painting Madaam... that he is mad is true is influenced by the structure of Cubism, the flat dimensions of Byzantine Art, and his utilization of mixed media. After Rosen's death in 2004, the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts sponsored an exhibition of his Hamlet paintings at the Wells Fargo Building gallery. Throughout Rosen's career, he amassed a great deal of critical, industry, and public praise for his work. His beloved town of Laguna Beach bestowed numerous awards that include the Laguna Beach Annual Art Gallery Award and Orange County's Annual Exhibit Award. Rosen's work flourished in California, and he received recognition from the San Diego County Fair, Los Angeles' Miracle Mile...

Bright, small abstract expressionist painting of train and town at night by Tom Hamil (American, b. 1928). Signed upper left corner "Hamil". Condition: Excellent. Presented in rustic wooden shadow box frame. Image size: 8"H x 6"W. Tom Hamil, was born in New York in 1928 and raised primarily in California. After attending the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, he returned to California to begin his formal art training at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco (now known as the San Francisco Art Institute). He completed his education at the University of Washington with a Master’s Degrees and Doctorate in Fine Arts and Education. His first solo exhibition was held in 1956. Since then, he has participated in numerous one man shows, group shows, and has been represented in galleries in the US and Mexico. In addition to his painting, Hamil has authored and illustrated a number of books. While at the Naval Academy, he received recognition for his paintings, drawings, and illustrations. Listed among Hamil’s many awards and honors are a Ford Foundation Fellowship and an Award of Excellence from the American Graphics Society. Currently, he lives in Zirahuen, Michoacan, Mexico and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Hamil’s statement: “I am a man...

Double sided figurative abstract by San Jose, California area artist Daniel David Fuentes (American, 1978-2016). San Francisco bay area abstract expressionist and landscape artist du...

Gorgeous mid century modernist abstract combining earth-tones and subtlest metallic silver background by Corban LePell (American, b. 1933), 1955. Signed ...

Ben Wilson Ozymandias, 1989 Oil on masonite board Boldly signed by Ben Wilson on the back 36 × 48 inches Unframed Provenance: acquired from the Estate of Ben Wilson This work is titled "Ozymandias" after the famous sonnet written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). Shelley's poem is one of the most poignant meditations on the fleeting nature of human power and the inevitability of decline. The poem serves as a reminder that time erodes even the most imposing empires and leaders and that the pursuit of lasting fame and control is ultimately futile. Depending on how one views Ben Wilson's Abstract Expressionist painting of "Ozymandias" -- some of the imagery might reveal the head of an angry king and a sickle. Shelley's poem Ozymandias reads: I met a traveler from an antique land...

"7 Koi" is a complex work of koi fish swimming underwater filled with light and brilliant color painted in a lush and fluid style bordering on abstraction. Fish are in shades of ...

"Inferno" Abstract Painting 39" x 47" inch by Amal Nasr Acrylic on Wood “New Horizon” series There is a constant quest to restore the joy of discovery and the pleasure of the fir...

"Foliage" Abstract Painting 47" x 59" inch by Amal Nasr Acrylic on Wood “New Horizon” series There is a constant quest to restore the joy of discovery and the pleasure of the fir...